MINA PETRILA [RO]
Exploration #146. Petrila Coal Mine was an underground mining exploitation, one of the largest in Romania located in Petrila, one of six cities in the Jiu Valley region of Hunedoara County. It was also the oldest mine in Romania and until now the deepest in Europe, with shafts going down as far as 940 metres. The mine opened in 1859 when the country was still part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. In 1867 the excavation works of the Deak Petrila and Petrosani East wells began, and in 1868 it is mentioned for the first time the realization of an industrial production of 853 tons of coal. In 1938 the excavation of the central well begins, which ends in 1945, and the coal production in 1943 was 764300 tons. It hit peak production in 1983 when workers extracted 1.2 million tonnes. The mine closed in 2016 and many soon the demolitions works began. Currently the demolitions works are stopped anf the former workers are trying to convert the site to a mining museum.
