On 23 March 1957, in the Lower Silesia region near Sieroszowice, a team of geologists led by Dr Jan Wyżykowski struck a copper ore deposit with a metal content of 1.40–1.50 percent at a depth of more than 650 metres. This discovery, made against the prevailing geological views that denied the existence of deposits in this area, became the spark that ignited an economic revolution in Lower Silesia.
The origins of KGHM are a story of scientific determination in the post-war reality, because in 1949, after the end of World War II, work began on reactivating pre-war mines in the so-called Old Copper Basin, such as „Lena”, „Konrad” and „Nowy Kościół”, and the experience gained in these small operations became the foundation for the future workforce that would undertake the construction of Polish Copper from scratch.
The key moment, however, was the decision to launch large-scale geological exploration in the area between Lubin and Głogów, a region that was then a geological „blank spot”, since earlier work by German geologists had not confirmed the presence of deposits in this area. On 23 March 1957, Jan Wyżykowski’s team made a discovery that went down in history, because the S-1 test borehole confirmed the presence of rich copper ore deposits at a depth of more than 650 metres, which initiated the development of the Legnica-Głogów Copper Basin.
This discovery was all the more spectacular because Wyżykowski was only able to pursue his goal thanks to a government resolution obliging the State Geological Institute to discover copper deposits for the needs of the national economy, which gives the whole story a heroic dimension of struggle against the odds.
A geological breakthrough that changed Poland. The story of the discovery that gave birth to KGHM
The discovery of the deposit was only the beginning, because its development required overcoming enormous technological and logistical barriers, and the deposit was characterised by great depth, significant water influx, high rock temperatures and a tendency for rock bursts, which presented miners and engineers with challenges unprecedented in Polish mining. In January 1960, the state enterprise „Lubin Mining Plant under construction” was established to prepare the design of the first mining plant, and the turning point came on 1 May 1961, when the structure was transformed into the „Copper Mining and Smelting Combine under construction”, a date recognised as the official beginning of KGHM’s history. The task of the combine was not only to build mines but also ore processing plants, copper smelters and the entire auxiliary and social infrastructure, which made this undertaking one of the largest industrial challenges in post-war Poland, requiring enormous financial and human resources.
The birth of the combine and heroic construction in harsh conditions. The early years of KGHM
In 1968, after eight years of intensive work, the Lubin mine reached 25 percent of its target production capacity, and a year later, in September 1969, construction began on another mine – Rudna, which was officially handed over for operation on 17 July 1974, marking a significant step towards increasing extraction. In 1971, the „Głogów” Copper Smelter was put into operation, followed by the „Cedynia” Smelter in 1979, which together with the mines formed an integrated production system capable of processing ore into finished smelter products.
Parallel to the development of the mines and smelters, a key element of the technological chain was being built – the „Żelazny Most” Mining Waste Disposal Facility, which is the largest facility of its kind in Europe and the second largest in the world, demonstrating the scale of the undertaking and its importance for the entire region. In 1996, as part of restructuring efforts, the Polkowice and Sieroszowice mines were merged, which facilitated management and enabled more efficient implementation of thin-seam extraction technologies, and these decades of intensive development laid the foundations for KGHM’s future international expansion.
Privatisation and stock market debut. A new era for the Polish giant
The next milestone in KGHM’s history was its transformation into a joint-stock company in 1991, which opened the way to raising capital from financial markets and increased management transparency. Six years later, on 10 July 1997, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. shares debuted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and as part of the public offering, the State Treasury sold 65.7 million of the 200 million shares, with individual investors able to purchase shares at PLN 19 and institutional investors at PLN 21.
The stock market listing opened the company to new sources of capital, which was crucial for implementing ambitious modernisation and investment plans, and the company’s share capital currently stands at PLN 2 billion. Thanks to the stock exchange debut, the company gained the tools necessary to further strengthen its position on the international stage and could begin a process of global expansion that would forever change its character from a regional leader to a global player.
Global expansion and new challenges. KGHM conquers the world
Equipped with capital and experience, KGHM began an intensive foreign expansion, and the key moment came in 2012, when the company acquired the Canadian mining company Quadra FNX, which was one of the largest Polish foreign investments and opened KGHM’s access to resources on three continents. Thanks to this transaction, KGHM gained ownership of five mines overseas: Robinson and Carlota in the United States, Morrison in Canada, and Franke and Sierra Gorda in Chile, with the flagship project becoming the Sierra Gorda mine, which is one of the world’s largest copper and molybdenum deposits.
It should be emphasised, however, that the Sierra Gorda deposit is among those with relatively low copper content (about 0.39 percent) in the Antofagasta region, which requires the use of advanced extraction and processing technologies to ensure operational profitability, presenting a technological challenge for the Polish company.
KGHM’s controlled global copper ore resources amount to 22.7 million tonnes, placing the company among the world’s leading producers of this raw material. Today, KGHM is not just about extraction, because the company is an integrated producer controlling the entire value chain: from its own deposits, through mines and processing plants, to modern smelters that produce copper and silver traded on the world’s most important commodity exchanges in London, New York and Shanghai, which is a guarantee of their highest quality.
KGHM’s smelters hold the prestigious Copper Mark certification, confirming the highest standards in sustainable smelting production, and the KGHM Capital Group currently employs approximately 34,500 people in over 60 companies on four continents, making it one of Poland’s largest employers and a significant player in the global raw materials market.
The future written in copper. Strategy for the coming decades
Not resting on its laurels, KGHM is looking to the future, because the company has announced a new strategy for 2055+, which assumes investments worth more than PLN 32 billion in the years 2026-2030, showing that the company does not intend to limit its development despite the challenges related to the energy transition and changing market conditions. The plan includes both the development of existing assets, such as the construction of a fourth grinding line at the Chilean Sierra Gorda mine, scheduled for commissioning in 2030, which is intended to increase processing capacity and reduce unit costs, as well as the search for new acquisition opportunities. KGHM is looking at projects located in Morocco, Argentina, Canada and the United States, aiming to further strengthen its position among the world’s leading copper producers, because demand for this raw material will grow with the development of electromobility and renewable energy sources. The discovery of the deposit in 1957 by Jan Wyżykowski, against all odds, not only created one of Poland’s largest enterprises but also permanently inscribed Poland on the map of the global mining industry, and KGHM has proven that determined people, modern technologies and strategic thinking can build an empire from the depths of the earth that will bring benefits to future generations of Poles and strengthen the country’s position on the international stage.
Photo: KGHM
