In January 2004, remediation at the Ronneburg site again became a talking point: the fleet of 54 off-highway earth-moving equipment on the job for 16 hours daily to backfill the open pit started running on biodiesel. This is just another token of Wismut's pioneering work in Germany.

The recent use of biodiesel has emerged as a good alternative to fossil fuels both under economic and ecological aspects. The switch to biodiesel means saving €2m in 2004 alone. These savings will benefit remedial works.

Replacing fossil diesel fuel by biodiesel does contribute to reduce greenhouse gases and sooty particle emission alike.