Velenje, 06 February (STA) - The country's biggest coal mine made a profit of EUR 3.5m in 2017, after getting out of the red in 2016 and posting a profit of EUR 770,000, Premogovnik Velenje CEO Ludvik Golob said on Tuesday.
The company made EUR 121.7m in revenue last year, up EUR 4.2m year-on-year, Golob said at the session of the Velenje city council.
In 2015, the company reported a loss of almost 70 million euro.
The company had planned to mine 3.31 million tonnes of coal last year, but managed to do 3.35 million tonnes. The plan for this year is 3.6 million tonnes.
According to Golob, at the end of 2017 the coal mine still had 113 million tonnes of ore.
He also said the employees would get an average 650 euro gross in performance bonus for last year.
The non-payment of the bonus was one of the reasons prompting the mining and energy trade union (SDRES) to start considering a strike at the end of last year.
While the SDRES, which does not represent all Premogovnik Velenje employees, said it had a dozen demands, it has not yet disclosed them to the public.
However, the demands are said to be related to wages and better safety at work, and a contingency plan in case the coal mine is gradually closed or production falls sharply.
The trade union also addressed an appeal to the city council, asking it to take part in a broader social deal that would form a basis for a bill to gradually close the coal mine.
It was rumoured last year when the government sent the country's energy concept into public consultation that the Šoštanj coal-fired power station TEŠ and the Velenje coal mine, which supplies the power station with coal, would be closed.
The Premogovnik Velenje management responded to the trade union's grievances by arguing there was no reason to go on strike. Today, Golob reiterated the company was already carrying out what the trade union was demanding.