GKB-Bergbau GmbH manages the legacy of Styrian coal mining: old mining safeguarding, recultivation, forestry and real estate management
GKB-Bergbau GmbH
8572 Bärnbach (Headquarters)New on Amplifa
About GKB-Bergbau GmbH
GKB-Bergbau GmbH, headquartered in Bärnbach (Western Styria), is a 100% subsidiary of Österreichische Beteiligungs AG (ÖBAG) and, as legal successor to ÖIAG-Bergbauholding, is carrying out the orderly withdrawal from the mining sector. The company addresses the multifaceted mining legacy of the former coal and ore mines in Styria and Carinthia. Its core business is so-called Active Stewardship: safeguarding, stewardship and monitoring measures for old mines on the basis of final operating plan and decommissioning decisions of the mining authority as well as the safeguarding obligation under MinroG. This includes old mining safeguarding, control drillings, recultivation as well as forestry, land and real estate management (loan agreements, leases, real estate). The goal of Active Stewardship as a risk management system is the safety of surface use, old mining free of after-effects and the minimization of unavoidable permanent burdens. Founded in 1856 as Graz-Köflacher Eisenbahn- und Bergbau-Gesellschaft, the company was once one of Austria's largest lignite producers; coal extraction ended in 2005/2006. In 2024, SCHOELLER-BLECKMANN Gesellschaft m.b.H. and IMIB were merged with GKB-Bergbau GmbH.
- Site
- Bärnbach
- Processes
- Old mining safeguarding and stewardship ('Active Stewardship'), Control drillings, Recultivation, Forestry and land management (loan agreements, leases), Real estate and properties, Safeguarding projects
- Materials
- Active Stewardship, Control Drillings, Recultivation
- Founded
- 1856
- Industries
- Mining (old mining management), Real Estate, Forestry
- 01
Old mining surveying and monitoring
- 02
Control drillings and investigation projects
- 03
Safeguarding and stewardship measures
- 04
Recultivation of mining areas
- 05
Forestry, land and real estate management
Processes and Services
Active Stewardship
Long-term safeguarding and monitoring program for former coal and ore mines in Styria and Carinthia.
Control Drillings
Drillings with evaluation of drill cores, e.g. to ensure the safety of infrastructure such as high-pressure natural gas pipelines.
Recultivation
Reuse of former mining areas, among other things as a local recreation area (former Oberdorf open-cast mine).
Sites
Bärnbach
ATHeadquarters
Inside the production
Industries
Additional services
History
- 1780
Start of coal extraction in the Western Styrian lignite district
- 1856
Founding of Graz-Köflacher Eisenbahn- und Bergbau-Gesellschaft (GKB) through the merger of seven smaller mining companies
- 1977
Opening of the Oberdorf open-cast mine, Austria's largest lignite mine
- Ende der
Closure of the last underground mining operations Zangtal and Karlschacht
- 1998
Renamed GKB-Bergbau GmbH following company split (separation of the mining division from the transport division)
- 2004
Transfer of BBU risks and mining rights from VA-Erzberg to GKB
- 2005
Last coal deliveries to industrial customers
- 2006
Last conversion of Western Styrian lignite into electricity at the Voitsberg III steam power plant
- 2024
Hanspeter Nußbacher becomes sole Managing Director; merger of SCHOELLER-BLECKMANN Gesellschaft m.b.H. and IMIB with GKB-Bergbau GmbH