Former intake shaft site of the Staříč II plant of Důl Staříč, a large coking coal colliery now undergoing full surface demolition.
Staříč I/1 designates a shaft site forming part of závod Staříč II, the central plant of Důl Staříč near the village of Staříč in the Frýdek-Místek district. Důl Staříč was the largest and southernmost colliery in the Ostrava-Karviná district, built from late 1961 to produce high-quality coking coal from the Podbeskydí coalfield. The dobývací prostor covered over 40 km² and was divided between three plants, of which závod Staříč II at the Staříč locality was the central production hub.
Shaft sinking at závod Staříč II began in 1962 and 1963, with first coal production in 1971 and full capacity reached in 1980. At peak operation up to 3,500 workers were employed across the combined Staříč complex. Coal extraction ended on 31 March 2017, with total combined output of approximately 47 million tonnes.
Both shafts at závod Staříč II were backfilled in 2019. The site is now managed by DIAMO and undergoing progressive demolition of surface structures, with completion of demolition planned by 2030.
The geological and development history of the Staříč shaft sites is shared with that of the wider Důl Staříč project. The first exploratory borehole in the Podbeskydí area was drilled at Paskov by the French entrepreneur Chanov between 1901 and 1902. Over thirty further boreholes were drilled by the firms A. Fauk a spol. of Vienna and the Austrian drilling company through to the First World War. Post-war economic conditions interrupted further work. Renewed interest came with the approach of the Second World War, and between 1938 and 1945 several expert assessments of the Staříč field were prepared. After nationalisation, detailed geological survey of the Staříč II field was conducted by Uhelný průzkum n.p. Ostrava between 1954 and 1958.
Construction of Důl Staříč was launched in late 1961. The project, designed by Báňské projekty Ostrava, divided the 40 km² dobývací prostor into three operational plants. Závod Staříč II at the Staříč village locality formed the main production hub. Surface terrain works at závod Staříč II commenced in March 1962. In the summer of 1962 the collars of both shafts were established to a depth of 28 metres. Full-scale sinking of the principal shaft using the definitive winding engine and headframe began in autumn 1963. Each shaft was of circular cross-section with a 7.5 metre diameter.
Both shafts at závod Staříč II reached the fourth working level at approximately 614 metres depth. The shaft designated Staříč II/3 served as the ventilation and skip shaft; its companion shaft at the same plant served as the intake shaft. During sinking at závod Staříč II, a record rate was achieved: 321.93 metres of finished shaft were sunk in 31 working days.
Production at Důl Staříč began in 1971, when first porub output exceeded 267,000 tonnes. Full projected capacity was reached in 1980. The Staříč locality concentrated all coal production in the later years of the mine's operation. Two major fatal accidents affected the Staříč complex: on 22 February 1975 a methane explosion at závod Staříč II killed eleven miners, and a further serious accident occurred at závod Staříč III on 30 December 1976. At peak operation the combined Staříč complex employed up to 3,500 workers, with approximately two thousand fárající at the Staříč locality alone. Maximum annual drivage was recorded in 1986 at 35,747 metres.
Důl Staříč was merged with Důl Paskov under OKD in 1994 as part of the regional output reduction programme. The last coal was raised on 31 March 2017. Combined output for the full Staříč complex over its production life amounted to approximately 47 million tonnes of coking coal. Both shafts at závod Staříč II were backfilled in 2019. The shaft at the Staříč I/1 site now serves for methane gas recovery. Progressive demolition of all surface structures is managed by DIAMO under the Útlum-Jih programme, with completion of works planned by 2030 at an estimated cost of approximately 270 million CZK.