Closed southern section of the last hard coal mine in the Czech Republic, forming part of the landmark Důl ČSM complex at Stonava.
Důl ČSM-jih is the southern operational section of Důl ČSM, the hard coal mine at Stonava in the Ostrava-Karviná basin of the Moravian-Silesian Region. Construction of the ČSM complex began on 1 September 1958, and shaft-sinking across both the northern and southern sites was completed on 1 April 1965. The definitive hoisting installations at the intake shafts were brought into service in 1967.
The first tonne of coal was extracted on 16 December 1968, from the 23rd seam at the southern site at a depth of 570 metres. The southern section, alongside the northern section, formed the two mining districts of Důl ČSM; raw coal was processed at the coal preparation plant located on the northern site. The mine operated as part of OKD and its predecessor structures until final closure.
Mining at Důl ČSM ceased on 1 February 2026, marking the end of hard coal extraction in the Czech Republic. Technical liquidation of the mine is scheduled to continue until approximately 2028.
The site that became Důl ČSM has a relatively short history that begins after the Second World War. Exploratory drilling around the village of Stonava in the 1950s confirmed the presence of the full Carboniferous sequence, and the decision was taken to develop a new colliery in the easternmost part of the Karviná sub-basin. Construction was entrusted to the enterprise VOKD and formally began on 1 September 1958.
Shaft-sinking commenced the following month and proceeded across the two sites — North and South — until completion on 1 April 1965. Across both sites a total of 3,251 metres of shafts with a diameter of 7.5 metres were sunk. A national enterprise to administer the new mine was established in 1961, employing 36 people by the end of its first year.
The definitive hoisting installations at the intake shafts were commissioned in 1967. The southern site, Závod ČSM jih, entered production on 19 December 1968, when the first coal was drawn from a depth of 570 metres from longwall face 230 311, worked by the team of Antonín Nidoba. This was also the date on which mining was formally inaugurated across the whole Důl ČSM complex.
The southern site was structured as one of two ventilation districts, each with its own pair of intake and return-air shafts. At the southern site, the intake shaft is the deepest in the complex, reaching 1,103 metres, placing the shaft bottom 826 metres below sea level. The mining licence covered the cadastral areas of Stonava, Karviná, Albrechtice u Českého Těšína, and Chotěbuz, with the total mining field covering 22.106 square kilometres.
Mining was carried out by longwall caving using shearers and shield sets. Entries were developed predominantly by roadheaders. The mine produced hard coking coal, semi-soft coking coal, and thermal coal.
Annual production at the combined ČSM complex typically ranged between two and two and a half million tonnes; the record year was 1981, when 2.8 million tonnes were extracted. The first million-tonne milestone was reached as early as 1971. By the end of 2025, the mine had produced approximately 124 million tonnes of coal across its operational life.
Důl ČSM was part of the OKD concern until 1 November 1990, when it was separated from OKD and a privatisation process began. Together with the Kladno and Tuchlovice collieries it was incorporated into the joint-stock company Českomoravské doly, a.s. (ČMD), established on 1 January 1993 and headquartered in Kladno. Důl ČSM operated within ČMD as a branch plant with a high degree of legal and economic independence.
In 1998 the ownership structure of the wider OKD group changed when the state lost its majority shareholding and Karbon Invest, a.s. became the dominant shareholder; ČMD was incorporated into the Karbon Invest group. On 30 November 2005 ČMD, a.s. was dissolved and all its rights and liabilities transferred to the successor company OKD, a.s., bringing Důl ČSM — by then the only active mine within ČMD — back within OKD. On 20 December 2018 a methane explosion occurred at Důl ČSM, killing thirteen miners and injuring ten more; twelve of the fatalities were Polish nationals.
It was the worst mining disaster in the Czech Republic since 1990. In 2022 OKD, now state-owned, announced its intention to continue mining at ČSM until 2025, with an average output of approximately 1.1 million tonnes per year. Output in 2025 reached only 1.14 million tonnes, representing just 4.6 per cent of the 1980 peak.
Mining costs had become unsustainable at the depths required, while shrinking domestic steel production and Europe's energy transition had reduced demand. The decision was taken to end extraction at the end of January 2026. The final mining shift surfaced from the southern site in the night of 31 January to 1 February 2026.
A symbolic last cart of coal was raised to the surface on 4 February 2026 at a formal ceremony attended by miners, officials, and guests, at which OKD general director Roman Sikora paid tribute to the approximately ten generations of miners across nearly 250 years of hard coal mining in the Czech Republic. The closure of ČSM brought an end to hard coal extraction throughout the country; Poland remains the only EU member state to continue deep coal mining. Technical liquidation of the mine is scheduled to run until approximately 2028.
OKD's plans beyond mining include energy production using purchased coal and existing stockpiles, and property development in the Karviná Staré Město area. A 1:400 scale architectural model of the northern surface site was displayed in the mine's entrance hall before the closure; it is to be relocated to OKD's new headquarters as a permanent record of the mine. The surface buildings are scheduled for demolition following the completion of technical liquidation.