Production has been halted at Namjon Mine, which is operated by South Pyongan Province’s Kaechon Mining Enterprise, following an incident in early April involving groundwater overflow. The accident occurred in the midst of efforts by the North Korean authorities to increase coal production under the slogan “more electricity requires more firepower,” regional sources report.
“All of a sudden, the groundwater level started to increase in the Namjon mining pit,” a source in South Pyongan Province told Daily NK. “Although a water pump was installed, the pit flooded because there was no electricity.”
A worker who was inside the pit died in the accident, said the source.
Groundwater flooding accidents are a major risk for coal mine workers. Most coal mines are equipped with water pumps and drainage systems to prepare for contingencies.
Namjon Coal Mine generally operates water pumps around the clock to deal with the substantial volumes of groundwater seeping in from the nearby Chongchon River basin.
Moments before the pit was completely flooded, several water pumps were brought in but could not be operated due to the lack of electricity.
“April is the dry season, so it’s a good time for coal mining. But if the groundwater overflows in April, it’s almost impossible to produce coal during the rainy season in July and August,” the source said.
“Repair work has not been done because there’s no electricity, and the equipment is ruined because the pit is already filled with water. Even if recovery efforts are made, it’s unclear how many years it will take. If they don’t fix the electricity problem, it can’t reopen.”
The primary cause of the sudden groundwater overflow in April, when water levels should be low, has yet to be fully confirmed, according to a separate source in South Pyongan Province with knowledge of the incident.
“Water always needs to be pumped out of the pit with electric pumps, so it seems like a possible cause was the lack of electricity.”
A defector who worked in the power provision sector in North Korea told Daily NK that “because it’s difficult to recover mining pits that fill with water, the regime tends to ensure that electricity is not cut off to coal mines and just in case, they often supply reserve electricity.”
“So if they could not have prevented the pit from flooding due to electricity shortages, it means that North Korea’s power situation is worse than we thought,” he asserted, adding that “problems with aging infrastructure or a broken transformer may also have caused the accident.”
North Korea’s coal mining authority has previously stated that coal must be produced even when electricity is unavailable and issued orders to dig a 150㎥ reservoir for emergencies.
“Work is currently underway to build the reservoir,” said the additional South Pyongan-based source. “It’s one of the ways to prevent other pits from being flooded, but I’m worried about working through the upcoming rainy season without electricity.”
Unless there are fundamental solutions to North Korea’s power problem, the country is likely to struggle to achieve its goal to increase coal production. “They say we need a reservoir, but what about building up the economy?” he retorted.
*Translated by Yongmin Lee
