Tremor may advance end of German coal

ESSEN, Germany, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A small weekend earthquake in Germany rattled some homes and temporarily halted operations at a Saarland coal mine, which remained closed Monday.

The Saarland mine has been blamed for dozens of small earthquakes in recent months, Deutsche Welle reported. But, after Saturday's quake, the largest yet recorded, it may not reopen.

The German government, which subsidizes coal mining in Germany, has decided it is cheaper to import coal than continue propping up the industry, the report said.

Saturday's earthquake registered 4 on the Richter magnitude scale. It was enough to collapse some chimneys and rattle pictures off of walls, the report said.

The government had already decided to phase out coal mining, beginning in 2009, expecting operations to cease by 2018.

There are 33,000 employed in coal mining in Germany.

At the Saarland mine, 3,600 workers are out of work due to the earth tremor and may not be allowed to return to their jobs.

Technically, the cause of the earthquakes is unknown, but RAG Deutsche Steinkohle, which owns the mine, has apologized for the damage caused by recent quakes and promised to set up a claims system quickly, the report said.