ANALYSIS OF COAL RESERVES WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR UNDERGROUND EXPLOITATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

The issues addressed in this paper are dedicated to the balancing and analysis of coal reserves for the system of underground exploitation in the Republic of Serbia, both in active mines - deposits and in prospective deposits for activation in terms of production. The basic message emphasizes the importance of coal as the leading domestic energy source for the production of mainly electricity and thermal energy to a lesser extent. In addition to the balance of coal reserves in the deposits, importance was given to the quality of coal as an important thermal energy factor. For active mines-deposits, thermal values are given for assortments of piece, cube and fine coal, while for inactive deposits, quality values are shown for coal from coal seams. Based on the obtained research results, it is concluded that coal will maintain the leading position for electricity production in the energy sector of the Republic of Serbia in the coming decades, while coal from underground exploitation should increase its share in the energy balance.