Oxyhumolit

History of Mining and Utilization of Oxyhumolite Deposit

Oxyhumolite, colloquially called weather coal, was in the past used to enhance soil fertility due to its high content of organic constituent and excellent sorption propertice. Since 1915, deposit oxyhumolite was used as basic raw material for production of paints and furniture mordant in the Association for Chemical and Metallurgical Production in Ústí nad Labem. In 1963, production was relocated to the Velvěty chemical plant near Teplice. The plant terminated mordant production in 1970. Technological and production equipment and units were moved to Doly Bílina. Later they were modernized to increase the production capacity to over 2,000 tonnes per year. The deposit of oxyhumolit is currently operated by the company Humatex,a.s.

Oxyhumolite

Oxyhumolite is the basic raw material for production of sodium and potassic salts of humic and fulvic acids. It is a kind of grainy soft coal with dark brown to brown-grey colour, a low degree of carbonization and a high content of humic acids, a humus component. It is formed by bio-chemical transformations of organic residues of dead plant substances. Oxyhumolite is usually situated under low permeable overburden in brown-coal seam outcrops. Oxyhumolite has similar physio-chemical properties as typical brown coal; it is transported and stored alike. Its heating value is up to 10 MJ per kilogram; thus, it is unsuitable for combustion. The oxyhumolite deposit has the highest content of humic acids in the Czech Republic (approximately 80% in solids) and a very low content of bitumen. Inorganic admixtures (sand and clay) form the remaining part of the deposit.