Agria 43. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2007)

Szvircsek Ferenc: Végjátszma. A Nógrádi Szénbányák felszámolása

Ferenc Szvircsek The Final Chapter The changes that have gone on in the energy sector have meant one thing to the coal mining industry: terminal decline. Over the last five years twenty-nine pits have been closed down, leaving only Kányás, Ménkás, Tiribes and Szorospatak. The changed economic circumstances of 1986-1987 and the need for restructuring left Nógrád'

s coalmines in an extremely vulnerable position. Things were only worsened by frequent changes in government policies, which lurched from emphasising the need for coal to a desire to reduce production substantially. Whatever the exact reasons the end result was the collapse of mining in the Nógrád coal basin. In December 1988 a reorganisation agreement was signed that proved impossible to respect. It was for this reason that the organisation responsible for the reorganisation issued a winding up order on the coal board on 5

th September 1989, which came into effect on 2

nd February 1990. Coal production came to an end in November 1992, the laying off of the entire workforce taking place on 31

st December 1993. The company ceased to exist on 6th October 2005 bringing to an end almost a century and a half of coal-mining and mining culture in Nógrád County. 690