Poland’s mining and mining-related sector has a unique opportunity to reinvent itself and thrive in the coming years, according to key industry figures. While coal production is declining, the country retains world-class expertise in underground mining, automation, and machinery, which can be exported and adapted for new raw materials, including critical minerals and rare earth elements.
– In the future, I think mining of deficit raw materials with a high risk of supply disruptions from imports, including rare earth elements, will develop strongly – assessed Marian Zmarzły, Deputy Minister of Energy responsible for mining. He stressed that the debate about mining must encompass both the challenges of transformation and the competencies and potential built up by the Polish extractive sector over the years, which should be used in a broadly understood raw materials mining.
– Contrary to what is commonly said, I am calm about the future of coal in Poland and the EU, at least in the medium term. We will not be able to build sufficient energy storage or nuclear power plants in a short time – said Janusz Olszowski, president of the Mining Chamber of Industry and Commerce, in an interview with WNP. He added that once nuclear units are built in Poland, enormous funds will have to be invested in grids to transmit power from the north to the south. – So, whether one likes coal or not, we will need it for a long time – he emphasised.
Polish mining know-how must conquer foreign markets
Olszowski pointed out that Poland is the only country in the European Union that still has a very large potential in terms of companies and institutions operating for mining. Our underground mines are an excellent testing ground for various solutions. However, Polish mining is shrinking year by year. Coal production in Poland will decline. – Therefore, companies from the mining environment, as well as research units, must enter foreign markets to survive – he said. The markets where coal mining is planned to increase and coal-based energy is developing are the target. He mentioned that during the Future Mining Forum & Expo in Katowice (September 9-11), Polish firms will have a chance to remind the world of their capabilities. – Our companies producing for mining and providing services for the industry are known worldwide. However, competition is growing, also from China, where production costs are much lower than ours – Olszowski noted. – But we can show the world that we have know-how and experience in mining. We can build Mining 4.0 or even 5.0. Digitization, robotization, use of artificial intelligence – that is not a problem for our companies – he added. Over recent years a large technological leap has been made in mining machinery and equipment.
Henryk Stabla, president of the board of Carboautomatyka, a company specializing in automation systems, indicated that the mining-related sector is constantly changing and companies are entering new areas of industry. – The coal mining sector in Poland is shrinking. Years ago we decided to enter other, non-mining market segments. Moreover, mining is not only coal, it also includes copper, salt, aggregates, or metals. And machines and equipment are dedicated to this wide spectrum – he explained.
From coal to critical minerals and the circular economy
Deputy Minister Marian Zmarzły emphasised that the concept of mining must be perceived more broadly, because it is often associated only with coal mining. – The future of Polish mining may be diversified. The hard coal sector remains subject to a transformation process carried out with consideration for energy, social and regional security. At the same time, the importance of non-coal mining is growing – of raw materials used in industry, energy and new technologies, as well as the research and technical base for the sector – he said. Areas that combine raw materials security, innovation, efficiency and high environmental standards will develop. – We talk a lot about searching, recognizing and documenting new mineral deposits, and about obtaining raw materials from anthropogenic deposits – he noted. – In the future, I think mining of deficit raw materials with a high risk of supply disruptions from imports, including rare earth elements, will develop strongly – Zmarzły assessed.
Alicja Krzemień, president of the European Association of Hard Coal and Lignite (EURACOAL) and professor at the Central Mining Institute – National Research Institute, pointed out that mining in Europe and the world is undergoing a deep change: from the traditional understanding of extraction towards raw materials security, digitization, automation, environmental responsibility and new models of using post-mining areas. – Future Mining Forum & Expo can become a place where all these threads are combined into a practical conversation with the participation of industry, science, administration, technology suppliers, investors and mining regions – she said. – We have competencies in underground mining, work safety, management of natural hazards and transformation of post-mining areas. And it is worth showing them more widely on the international stage – she added.
Źródło: WNP.PL (wnp.pl), Fot. Tupungato / Shutterstock
