REECOL

On 1 October, workshops presenting the results of the GI-mine and REECOL research projects will be held at the Experimental Mine Barbara in Mikołów. The event is aimed at representatives of the mining industry, research institutions, and public administration, as well as anyone interested in land reclamation and the restoration of the utility value of post-mining areas.

Participation in the event is free of charge. Coffee breaks, snacks, and lunch will be provided for participants. The detailed event agenda will be published at the end of August.

To register, please fill out the registration form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/0MHH97eXrF

The workshops will showcase selected results from both projects, including:

• a method for greening post-mining spoil heaps using directed succession, developed by GIG-PIB;
• a technology for the non-contact reclamation of hard-to-reach post-mining areas — a spraying technology supported by UAV monitoring, developed by KOMAG, accompanied by a demonstration of the equipment;
• an eco-friendly compost produced from waste materials (low-calorific coal, feathers, and straw), developed by Poltegor-Instytut;
• a technology for producing synthetic soil, representing a synergy between the municipal and mining sectors, developed by GIG-PIB, accompanied by a demonstration of the production facility.

We are proud to announce that the compost developed by Poltegor-Instytut within the REECOL project was awarded with Gold Medal during INTARG-EKO 2026 (https://intarg.haller.pl/).
This innovative compost mixture with high biological activity, along with its production technology has been designed to support the reclamation of post-mining areas through soil rehabilitation while advancing circular economy principles. It is produced from lignite mining waste, straw, and poultry industry by-products (feathers), transforming these materials into a valuable resource for environmental restoration.

A national patent application for the invention has been submitted by the Poltegor-Institut.

The compost mixture and its production technology have currently reached TRL 5, with further research and development activities planned to advance the technology toward commercial implementation.

As part of the REECOL project activities, the team is currently conducting pre-feasibility studies and cost-beneft analyses for large-scale production and deployment of the compost in post-mining reclamation projects.

We are proud to announce that a new paper presenting REECOL results has just been published in Sustainability: High-Resolution UAV-Based NDVI Monitoring Method for Sustainable Post-Mining Land Management.
The publication was prepared through excellent cooperation between KOMAG and TUC.

Read the paper here: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/9/4583

Two-day meeting of the project cosortium, hosted by VUHU, took place on 16,17 April 2026. The project partners participated in-person and online. Curent, completed and future tasks and activities have been thorougly discussed.

REECOL project objectives and results were presented at KOMEKO2026 conference.
During a session on projects in which Instytut KOMAG is involved, the project coordinator, Poltegor-Instytut, delivered a presentation “REECOL – Ecological rehabilitation and long-term monitoring of post-mining areas”.
The REECOL informational banner was also displayed throughout the conference.

The REECOL team’s monthly online meeting took place last week. The issues disscussed included among others:

• the Audit Catalog the work on which is been finalized in the Work Package 6 (Developing an audit catalogue to evaluate and certify ecological rehabilitation industry best practice of post-mining areas);
  
• work progress in the Work Package 5 (Short and long term monitoring of ecosystem rehabilitation);
  
• preparations for our progress meeting in Czechia, to be held in April;
  
• planning of REECOL worshops and final conference.

Deliverable 4.1. Method for a steered sucession of low-growing plants and its field testing has been uploaded on the Deliverables website: https://reecol.komag.eu/deliverables/.

On the last Friday of January, the project partners took part in the periodic online meeting. The issues discussed included among others: REECOL progress meeting in Czechia, workshops to be held this year, review of Audit Catalogue (one of results of our project), work on Deliverable D4.5 that is to be completed this year.

REECOL partners involved in the work package 5: ‘Short and long term monitoring of ecosystem rehabilitation’ met online to discuss the completed, current and future activities. Ideas for a research paper were also shared.

The automated spraying system designed in REECOL project to support land reclamation in post-mining areas was presented in a paper “Automated Spraying System for Post-Mining Land Reclamation –Structural Design and Functional Testing” published in Mining Machines.
The system is part of a non-contact remediation technology, for degraded soils, the development of which is one of the project’s key objectives.
Here is direct link to the paper: https://tinyurl.com/3sx6tv4r