What happens after the liquidated mine? "We want to create places for companies here"

Liquidation of the Wujek and Bielszowice mines

New rules regarding mine closure were introduced this year. The first mine to be closed down this year is Bobrek in Bytom. However, this mine does not belong to the Polish Mining Group. However, as Ewa Grudniok from PGG says, this particular company is currently liquidating two mines.

The liquidation of the Wujek mine began in spring, and the Bielszowice mine in summer. This process will take approximately four years.

It takes years because, among other things, underground workings must be liquidated and secured, the equipment located there must be extracted and transferred to other mines or sold for scrap, some of it is also left underground. You also need to sort out what's on the surface, including: decide what to do with the buildings, external infrastructure and the huge area belonging to the liquidated mine.

Pumping station in a closed mine

Over 50 mines were liquidated within 26 years by the Mine Restructuring Company. However, not every plant closure means the end for the entire mine. This is the case, among others, with part of the former Śląsk mine in Ruda Śląska. The last ton of coal was mined there 9 years ago. Now the former mine gate is falling into disrepair, and the nearby buildings, with dense bushes growing higher and higher, are threatening with broken windows. The road leading there is also in increasingly worse condition. However, part of this mine still operates.

Mines are a kind of connected vessel. And because continuous pumping of water underground is extremely important, some of the equipment of the former Śląsk mine is still used as a pumping station for other nearby plants - says Mariusz Tomalik from Spółka Restrukturyzacji Kopalń,

Old mine and modern technologies

It also took several years to liquidate the Wieczorek mine in Katowice. There is no mining there anymore, but a large urban investment has been started on part of the former mine area. This is a project showing how, among others, use what's left of the mine, which dates back to the end of the 19th century, and combine it with ideas from the beginning of the 21st century. What you can now see just behind the mine fence are modern cranes and construction equipment next to former mine towers and partially demolished buildings, of which only walls with window openings remain.

We want to create places here for companies and scientific entities that deal with technologies such as artificial intelligence, gaming, and audiovisual productions. We started this investment on August 1, says Dawid Kwiecień from Katowicka Agencja Wydawnicza, which is responsible for this project.

This is an investment worth hundreds of millions of zlotys. It is scheduled to end in two years.