Pictures of the impressive machines from German hard coal mines went around the world. Extraordinary, they have become one of the symbols of climate destruction.
Thousands of environmentalists (including Greta Thunberg) have been wading through the mud around the Garzweiler colliery in western Germany for several days to fight against the expansion of the mine. In the background, in many photos, was a desolate landscape and gigantic machines: the “excavators”, those huge excavators that gobble up the ground to extract the lignite that has become one of the symbols of the climate violence denounced by the protesters.
13,000 ton machines
The Garzweiler mine, named after one of the destroyed German villages, looks like an earthy gorge. 30 million tons of lignite are mined there every year, according to the German company RWE, which manages the site. The exploitation of this deposit is done with impressive machines called “excavators”. Metal giants, the largest models (Man Takraf RB288 and RB293) are around 100 meters high and their weight exceeds 13,000 tons. They are among the largest vehicles ever built.
Here are four harrowing satellite images from 20 years of coal mining #Lutzerath. I’m stunned 😳.
Victims of the polluting and destructive madness of German coal, many villages have been wiped off the map by backhoes. To enlarge 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/qi5x7jfQcZ— dr Serge Zaka (Dr Zarge) (@SergeZaka) January 15, 2023
According to RWE, six of these (in different sizes) are used in Garzweiler. The principle is simple: the impeller (the toothed part that comes into contact with the ground) continuously conveys material at speeds ranging from 110,000 m³ per day for the smallest “excavators” to 240,000 m³ (ie 218,880 tons of soil) for Excavator passes an excavator 293. Material placed directly onto a system of conveyor belts that transport the mined on a 95 km network. The non-coal material (rock, earth) is separated and the lignite is then used in the surrounding Niederaussem and Neurath power plants.
Dystopian allure
These excavators, whose first versions appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, have been the subject of numerous articles praising the technological and technical prowess they represent. But today it is their dystopian appeal that is the subject of much commentary, setting them up as symbols of ongoing ecological destruction. Even before this limelight, the “bagger” was widely used in pop culture, from movies like Hunger Games to video games like Call of Duty or Fallout 76.