The mitigation of impacts of past mining activities will not be finished by 2042; the costs might exceed CZK 45,000 million
PRESS RELEASE on Audit No. 16/07 – December 12, 2016
The Supreme Audit Office (SAO) scrutinized how the state enterprise DIAMO utilised funds provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance for the mitigation of impacts of past mining activities within the period from 2006 to 2015. During the audited period, the state enterprise DIAMO spent a CZK 36,800 million for the mitigation of impacts of mining activities. Auditors selected and scrutinized expenses in the amount of CZK 1,100 million and concluded that the state enterprise DIAMO had used the provided funds effectively and economically. At the Ministry of Finance, auditors only found three cases of non-transparent procedures, in which the Ministry signed contracts with suppliers worth CZK 676,000 in total only after the contractual works had been finished.
According to current estimates, the process of the mitigation of impacts of mining activities will not be finished by 2042 and the future costs might exceed CZK 45,000 million. Out of the estimated amount, nearly CZK 27,000 million will make the cost of the mitigation process related to the uranium production in Stráž pod Ralskem. The total sum will most likely further increase, because the plans do not include costs of wastewater treatment and pumping or the follow-up monitoring in the former mining areas. The state enterprise DIAMO has not estimated those expenses yet.
The State budget does not include sufficient funds for mitigation of impacts of mining activities, and that is why the Ministry of Finance provides additional amounts from a specific account, which covered up to 38 % of expenses related to the rehabilitation of mining sites carried out by the DIAMO state-owned enterprise in the period from 2006 to 2015. However, the specific account does not constitute a reliable source of funding because its revenues are related to dividends of the joint-stock company ČEZ, a. s., and at the same time, this account is used for the reduction of the national pension system deficit.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office