The cost of pitcoal mining in Valea Jiului (Romanian coal mining area) is 40% higher than the price at which it is sold to thermal power stations. The nearly 9,000 people employed by the Compania Na]ional` a Huilei (National Pitcoal Mining Company - CNH) are carrying the weight of two inefficient thermal power stations, which experts say could close down tomorrow and not affect the system in the least. But the social cost is too high, believe the authorities. So what can be done so that billions of dollars are no longer buried deep in the ground, as has been the case in the last 20 years?

"Pitcoal mining costs amount to around 90 RON per gicacalorie, and the price at which CNH goes on to sell the coal to the Deva and Paro[eni thermal power stations is around 64 RON. The closure of CNH and of the other two power stations are extreme measures that no-one will take. The solution would be to find an average price. So the CNH should make cost cuts and the thermal power stations should pay a higher price," says Mihai-Sorin G`man, general manager of the General Department for Mineral Resources in the Economy Ministry. On average, according to experts in the sector, a tonne of pitcoal can be considered the equivalent of 3.5 gigacalories. So, the production cost per tonne is 315 RON (75 euros), and the selling price is 224 RON (53 euros) per tonne.

The cost of pitcoal mining in Valea Jiului (Romanian coal mining area) is 40% higher than the price at which it is sold to thermal power stations. The nearly 9,000 people employed by the Compania Na]ional` a Huilei (National Pitcoal Mining Company - CNH) are carrying the weight of two inefficient thermal power stations, which experts say could close down tomorrow and not affect the system in the least. But the social cost is too high, believe the authorities. So what can be done so that billions of