Viewpoint Terra Nova – Hambach Open-Pit Mine

With an operating area of 4,380 hectares (2017) and an approved maximum size of the mining field of 8,500 hectares, Hambach is the largest lignite mine in Europe. According to RWE, an estimated 4,500 million tons of lignite were stored at a depth of up to 500 meters in the 1973/74 financial year. Around 2011, an estimated 1,772 million tons of lignite were still available for mining and around 40 million tons of lignite were mined annually on this area. The lignite originated from extensive forests and moors that developed in the Lower Rhine Bay between 30 and 5 million years ago. The geology of the Lower Rhine Bay is characterized by long-lasting subsidence movements over the last 30 million years. These have led to the deposition of a sediment package up to 1300 m thick through the North Sea and through many rivers. Today there are lignite seams up to 100 m thick.

On the edge of the Hambach opencast mine is the Forum Terra Nova, a viewing and visitor forum with an attached restaurant. From there you can watch the huge bucket wheel excavators at work in the opencast mine.

Nice view and gastronomy for a short break