The discovery of coal above Senovo village in the Reštanj area dates back to 1796. After initial surface mining, underground mining began in 1833. In 1855, the montanist Heinrich Drasche presented the achievements of Austrian coal mining, including Senovo as a 'very large deposit of brown coal', at the World Exhibition in Paris. In 1862, Drasche sent a 42.6 kg box of Senovo coal for the second time to the World Exhibition in London and, at the next World Exhibition in 1867, again in Paris, presented it as "a beautiful shining coal with little unburnable residue". In 1873, the World Exhibition was held in Vienna, and again Drasche presented Senovo coal there (Seher, 1986).

In 1904, the Trbovlje Coal Mining Company acquired the mining rights for coal extraction. Exploratory drilling and underground work soon revealed that the high-quality hard brown coal seam, approximately 25 m thick, dips steeply to the south. The Senovo coal mine was geologically described in the 'Elaboration on the categorisation, classification and calculation of coal reserves in the Senovo mine area on 31.12.1996'. The most important expert works are listed in this study. An excellent monograph on the Senovo Mine was written in 1986 by mining engineer Anton Seher. In line with the strategic orientations of the Slovenian State, coal production in Senovo ceased at the beginning of 1997.

The Senovo coal is of Oligocene age (Buser, S., 1977). The coal seam averages 20 m in thickness. The upper calorific value on a dry, ash-free basis (a measure of the degree of carbonification) is 27.73 MJ/kg. The sulphur content is high, at 3.5–4.0% (on a dry basis). 

Coal was explored and mined in the Zakov, Dol, Reštanj and Srebotno areas (caves), and from 1972 onwards only in Zakov. In the last three years of operation, just under 135,000 tonnes of coal were mined in total, compared with between 200,000 and almost 300,000 tonnes per year during the peak years (1946–1970).

The main aquifers are Triassic dolomite and Lithotamnian (Miocene–Badenian) limestone below the +270 m level (Ravne rov). Water was pumped from three pumping stations; after the closure of the coal mine, it returned to its original level. During the final period of operation, water inflows were 2–3 m³/min.

The mining workings were developed to an altitude of approximately 0 (lowest water pumping station), while the lowest extraction levels were slightly higher, at +44 and +28 respectively. The remaining coal reserves of A, B and C₁, are categorised as off-balance sheet, due to the end of production after 1996, and amount to just under 760,000 tonnes, with a lower heating value of 16.36 MJ/kg (at 19% moisture and 19% ash) and a total sulphur content of 2.73%.

At one of the entrances to the underground works in Ravne, at an altitude of +270 m, there is now a small open-air museum with mining equipment.

Prepared by mag. Andrej Lapanje and dr. Miloš Markič, January 2026