The last uranium mine in Europe closed

On Thursday, production ended at a uranium mine in the Czech Republic. It was the only functioning uranium mine in the Czech Republic and Europe after 2000

The Rožná-OLSI field was discovered in the mid-50s of last year. Production began in 1957. Up to 5,000 workers worked here. Later, employment gradually decreased. Since 1958, about 20 tons of uranium have been mined. Since the end of last year, only one mine has continued operations. In the last decade, the annual production of uranium has been about 300 tons.

It is estimated that the reserves of the deposit are still about 60 thousand tons. So why is the mine closed? The decision was made for economic reasons. The Czech company cannot effectively compete with producers from Kazakhstan and Canada, which have much better deposits.

According to the Czech authorities, with the closure of the mine, work begins on the withdrawal of about 250-300 employees.