Lying at a depth of around 1,200 m in the north of the active coalfield, the strata have been fragmented by major regional folding and faulting. Conditions in the Saar basin are more complex than in the Ruhr. In the Ruhr coalfield, mine development has taken place northwards with new shafts for ventilation and handling men and materials being sunk progressively further north. The depth of working has also increased with time, giving a current average production depth of 920 m. All of DSK s operations are based around longwall mining, using both shearers and ploughs for production.
Most mines operate in several seams, with each unit operating several faces.
A total of 43 faces was operated in 1999. Seams worked range in thickness from 1.0 m to 4.8 m, with ploughs being used in the thinner seams and shearers in thicker applications. Shearers remain the special preserve of Eickhoff, while SaarTech has developed face support and transport systems suitable for the more difficult mining conditions in the Saar coalfield. The company s workforce will shrink to 36,000 by 2005. The location of Germany s hard coal basins.