The 32nd School of Underground Mining was attended by prominent specialists in the mining and power industries.
- New techniques and technologies, artificial intelligence are having an increasing impact on economic development and mining. Its application is developing, which was evident especially in the papers of the younger generation - said Jerzy Kicki, Ph.D. Eng., chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 32nd School of Underground Mining.
The conference discussed many topics, but the main focus was on issues related to EU legislation on methane emissions, which is currently a major challenge for the mining industry.
- Poland has been experiencing unprecedented GDP growth for the past twenty years, and this must be reflected in mining and the changes taking place in the power sector. It's also the aftermath of a lot of action in climate protection, which includes the much-discussed methane. We keep track of the developments and react through appropriate sessions or panels - concluded Jerzy Kicki at the Juliusz Słowacki Theater.
This year's conference featured a speech by Tomasz Cudny, President of the JSW Management Board, who spoke about Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
- Meetings during the School of Mining are important for the mining industry, because we can learn about topics that absorb us, and this is the only such conference in our country. Our Company is younger than the School of Underground Mining, but has always been an active participant - said Tomasz Cudny, President of the JSW Management Board.
The President of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa pointed out that the 30 years of JSW was marked by continuous development, needed to survive in such a difficult industry. He also stressed that the company went through various stages. The final result was a powerful group of companies, the largest producer of coking coal in the European Union and a major producer of coke. Currently, the Company is of great importance to the national and European economies, but it also faces many problems.
- People who are not experts on economy do not distinguish between coking coal and steam coal. Without coking coal, there will be no steel. Without coking coal, there will be no civilization, the energy transition will not take place. Like it or not, the green transition begins a thousand meters underground, where we extract coking coal from - said Tomasz Cudny.
This year's conference was attended by a record number of participants, which exceeded 600 people. There were 181 presentations in 18 sessions and 3 panels. The culmination of the ceremony at the Kraków theater was the presentation of awards and diplomas. Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa was also honored as a partner of the event.
