The rheinische Braunkohlenrevier (The rhenish lignite mining region)

In the city triangle between Aachen, Cologne and Mönchengladbach, you can find "wandering holes", the up to 350 m deep pits of the lignite opencast mine. The Rhenish lignite mining region encompasses the Zülpicher and Jülicher Börde [Zülpich and Jülich plain], the Erft hollow and the Ville range of hills and is therefore the largest lignite mining region in Europe. Coal and spoil from the three opencast mines of Hambach, Inden and Garzweiler are transported along kilometre long conveyor belts. Trademarks of the opencast
mine technology are the bucket wheel excavators, the largest working machines in the world. Around 90% of the lignite is used to generate energy in the RWE power stations near to
the opencast mine.

New landscapes are created from the huge slap heaps: On the edges of the opencast mines, artificial hills, and on the worked out areas, recultivated crop and forest areas and artificial lakes.

Experience lignite
At several open-cast-mining viewpoints you can gain an insight into the opencast lignite mines of RWE Power.

For more information: www.rwe.com

Innovative region Rhenish mining area
 The "innovative region Rhenish mining area" includes parts of the economic region of Aachen, the Rhine district of Neuss and the Rhine-Erft district, in the area of which the lignite opencast mines of Inden, Hambach and Garzweiler are located. A future programme will be developed by 2015, which shows long term and sustainable development possibilities for the Rhenish mining area, and also names measures and projects. The headquarters of the branch office is the Technology Centre Jülich.

For more information, please visit: www.rheinisches-revier.de