PRAGUE - Severni Energeticka, part of the Sev.en energy group, will suspend mining at its CSA site and lay off 485 workers by July, the Czech brown coal miner said on Thursday.
The company is due to make a decision on terminating operations at the mining site in the coming months. It has said previously it expected CSA's closure between 2024 and 2026.
"Mining will be ended in a controlled manner in the next few months," Severni Energeticka CEO Petr Lenc said.
"For now it is an suspension of mining. If a need appears for our coal in electricity or heat production in the winter time, we are prepared to partially resume operations."
Mining at CSA has been gradually reduced since 2015, when the government maintained mining limits in the region.
The Czech Republic is in the gradual process of shifting away from coal, and coal-fired plants are becoming more uncompetitive.
Pavel Tykac, the billionaire owner of Sev.en, told Reuters last year that coal-fired plants would be running at a loss from 2026 but remain indispensable for the national grid.
Coal-fired plants have been squeezed by costs of carbon emission allowances and a falling number of hours in the year when they can sell at profitable prices.
But they still have an important role in supplying power, especially at times of high demand or low supply from renewable sources.