Konin Coal Mines

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Konin Coal Mines (Jóźwin IIB, Drzewce and Tomisławice, Pątnów IV) is an operating coal mine in Greater Poland, Poland.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Konin Coal Mines Greater Poland, Poland 52.416547, 18.162768 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating[1] 1945 2024[1]

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
2.21[2] 2022[2] Surface 14 50* 936[3]

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt) Year of Total Reserves Recorded Total Resources (Mt) Coalfield Coal Type Coal Grade Primary Consumer/ Destination
134 Adamów-Konin Lignite Thermal Patnow power station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
PAK KWB Konin SA PAK KWB Konin SA [100%] Poland

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ROM 8[4] 6[5] 5[6] 5[7] 4[8] 3[2] 0[9]

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.

Background

The KWB Konin coal mine are surface operations, owned by ZE PAK Group, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland.[10]

The mines operating under the KWB Konin branch include Jóźwin IIB, Drzewce, and Tomisławice.[11] They provide coal to the Patnow power station. The Konin mine complex is operated by PAK KWB Konin SA and owned by ZespoŁ Elektrowni Patnow-Adamow-Konin (ZE PAK SA). The annual coal production is around 2.6 million tonnes.

The European Parliament has been investigating the case of Tomisławice mine's infringement of Natura 2000 legislation since 2008 and was expected to issue a final report resolving the matter in the summer of 2016.[12]

In 2022, the mines produced a total of 3.54 million tonnes of brown coal (lignite); with the Drzewce pit producing 1.06 million tonnes, and Tomisławice pit producing 2.48 million tonnes.[13]

Although the Tomisławice pit was planned to mine coal until 2030, in April 2022, ZE PAK announced that this plan would be unprofitable and that it would consider closing the mine in 2024.[14]

Opposition

According to many scientists, the Tomisławice coal mine is an extreme threat to the neighboring nature protection Natura 2000 areas, including the protected Gopło lake. Its opening in May 2010 has resulted in many protests by local governments, farmers and ecological organisations.[15]

There are escalating protests about the impact of lignite coal mining in the area due to concerns about impacts to water resources.[16]

The open pit mines, removal of overburden, and siphoning off of groundwater from surrounding land has come under severe criticism from local communities who blame the mining activities on falling water levels in the nearby lakes. Wilczyńskie lake, where water levels are 5m below their 2011 levels, and four other nearby lakes are part of the nature reserve Pojezierze Gnieźnieńskie, where numerous protected species of flora are found. [17]

  • Operator: PAK KWB Konin SA[11]
  • Parent Company: ZespoŁ Elektrowni Patnow-Adamow-Konin (ZE PAK SA)[11]
  • Location: Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland[11]
  • GPS Coordinates: 52.416547, 18.162768 (exact)[11]
  • Mine Status: Operating[11]
  • Start Year:
  • Total Resource:
  • Mineable Reserves: 134 million tonnes[11] Jóźwin II: 65 million tonnes (Reserves, 2007) [18]
  • Coal Type: Lignite
  • Mine Type: Opencast
  • Mine Size: 14 km2
  • Mine Type: Surface
  • Mine Depth: 50 m
  • Production: 3.544 million tonnes (2021)[13];6.8 million tonnes per year (2020)[11]
  • Number of Employees:

Expansion

In Spring 2017, the government demanded the full EIA report for the Tomisławice mine expansion. The expansion of the existing Tomisławice mine is being met with opposition and serious doubts from environment impact assessment authorities.[19] The company's proposed mine expansions face strong resistance both locally and from the Minister of Agriculture. The unfinalized EU Commission infringement procedure has found breaches of environmental law at the Tomislawice mine.[20]

In July 2019, activists from the Climate Camp protest group entered the premises of the planned open cast lignite mine in Tomisławice, protesting continued coal mine development in the era of climate change.[21]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240131182242/https://globenergia.pl/zamkniecie-kwb-konin-zawazy-na-losach-pracownikow/. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240205190315/https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2022/pdf/brown_coal_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 05 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240402011752/https://energy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-12/Wielkopolska_2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 02 April 2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. (PDF) https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2017/pdf/brown_coal_2017.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. (PDF) https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2018/pdf/brown_coal_2018.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. (PDF) https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2019/pdf/brown_coal_2019.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. (PDF) https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2020/pdf/brown_coal_2020.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. (PDF) https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2021/pdf/brown_coal_2021.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. (PDF) https://www.pgi.gov.pl/images/surowce/2023/pdf/brown_coal_2023.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. PAK KWB Konin SA, About the Company, Company Website, accessed September 2020
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Euracoal, Poland, accessed September 2020
  12. New opencast mines of ZE PAK Company make no sense, Fundacja, April, 26, 2016.
  13. 13.0 13.1 LIST OF BROWN COAL DEPOSITS IN POLAND as of 31.XII.2021, Polish Geological Institute, 2021
  14. Katarzyna Kojzar, "Coal profits are shrinking. The Tomisławice open pit, which is dangerous for nature, may be closed in just 2 years" (translated from Polish), OKO Press, 22 April 2022.
  15. Parliamentary questions, Parlament Europejski, May 4, 2010.
  16. Poland's disappearing lakes fuel battle over coal mining, Reuters, July 10, 2016.
  17. Reuters, "Poland's disappearing lakes fuel battle over coal mining", Reuters website, Accessed March 2021
  18. Poltegor Engineering,"References:: Surface Mines", Web Archive Poltegor Website, Accessed April 2021
  19. Polish Pyramids or open-pit mine?, Foundation "Development YES – Open Pit Mines NO", October 4, 2017.
  20. ZE PAK SA IPO exposes investors to major risks, Bankwatch, October 17, 2012.
  21. Is Poland ready to call time on King Coal?, Politico, July 24, 2019.