From July 6 to 11, 2025, FZN employees attended the IMWA Conference, the conference of the International Mine Water Association, in Braga (Portugal). This year's IMWA Conference brought together 317 participants from 37 countries and offered a diverse program with 168 presentations, 47 posters, and four workshops. The conference was jointly organized by the University of Minho (Portugal) and the University of Oviedo (Spain), underscoring the spirit of cooperation between the two host countries.
The FZN was represented as a sponsor with a stand at the International Mine Water Association Conference 2025 in Braga. This provided a good platform for establishing contacts with companies, institutions, and universities from all over the world. In addition to exchanging ideas and exploring future opportunities for cooperation, the focus during the conference was on presenting the FZN's expertise and numerous research activities in the field of post-mining and mine water management.
The following papers by FZN researchers were presented at IMWA 2025:
- Simon E. Nikutta, Barbara M. A. Teichert, Henning Jasnowski-Peters, Harald Strauss, Sebastian Westermann:
Geochemical Modelling of Sulfur Cycling Processes During Mine Water Rebound in Former Hard Coal Mines of the Ruhr and Saar Regions, Germany.
PDF-Download - Bastian Reker, Sebastian Westermann:
Re-Mining of Mine Water Sludges in Germany: An Opportunity?
PDF-Download - Barbara M. A. Teichert, Henning Jasnowski-Peters, Simon E. Nikutta, Harald Strauss, Stefan Schlömer, Sebastian Westermann:
The Legacy of Hard Coal Mining Revealed by Isotopic Fingerprinting of Mine Waters, Ruhr Area, Germany
PDF-Download - Sebastian Westermann, Barbara M.A. Teichert, Stefan Möllerherm:
System and Process Understanding of Mine Gas Release of Closed Hard Coal Mines in the Context of EU Methane Regulation
PDF-Download - Hernán Flores, Tobias Rudolph, Jörg Benndorf:
Multi-Scale Characterization of Mine Waste in a Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities
PDF-Download
You can view and download the complete conference proceedings of IMWA 2025 here online.
During the excursions, participants had the opportunity to explore three mining areas in the region:
- The Covas mine, which has been closed since 1984, is a former tungsten site where unstable spoil heaps and sulfide-rich materials continue to pose a hazard.
- Near Porto, the São Pedro da Cova mine is struggling with ongoing problems caused by self-igniting coal piles, a legacy of the coal industry that shaped the region's economy and landscape.
- The Borralha mining complex, once one of Portugal's largest wolframite producers, now comprises 50 hectares of spoil tips and dilapidated industrial buildings, bearing witness to decades of mining activity before its closure in 1986.
Visiting these sites highlighted the long-lasting legacy of mining, from environmental challenges such as water acidification and burning spoil tips to the cultural and industrial heritage that remains. These excursions underscored the urgent need for innovative solutions that equally consider remediation, renaturation, conservation, and community engagement in former mining regions.
The week at the IMWA conference, with over 300 participants from five continents, offered an excellent professional exchange, excellent networking opportunities, and many great (new and old) contacts, so we look back on the conference with great gratitude. Our participation in the IMWA conference also highlighted the FZN's strong commitment to the international scientific community and our promotion of innovative approaches to post-mining, environmental protection, and sustainable resource use.
The next IMWA conference „IMWA 2026 – Sustainability & Efficiency“ will take place from July 5 to 10, 2026, in Jeongseon, South Korea.
Contact
Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Westermann
Research Center of Post-Mining
Herner Straße 45
44787 Bochum
Building 2, room 203
Phone 0234 968 3275
Mail sebastian.westermann@thga.de
