In addition to management and employees of Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, this year’s Saint Barbara celebrations were attended by representatives of central and local authorities, members of the European Parliament, deputies of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, senators, trade union leaders, representatives of institutions associated with the mining industry and business partners. “We can be proud of being one of the most important sectors of the Polish economy. We are creating a modern company and we constitute the strength of Polish industry. Incidentally, not only of Polish industry. Let me recall that Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa is the largest producer of coking coal in the European Union and a significant producer of coke, an essential material for the production of steel, without which the development of an innovative economy would be difficult to imagine,” said Włodzimierz Hereźniak, President of the JSW SA Management Board, in his opening address of the Saint Barbara Assembly.
During the ceremony, Cezary Kochalski, adviser to the President of the Republic of Poland, read a letter from President Andrzej Duda: “We know that Poland has unique natural resources, but it is only thanks to your efforts that these treasures can serve us all. It is also thanks to the work of miners, also those employed by your company, that Poland’s economy has recorded another year of growth”.
A similar letter was sent by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to JSW’s employees. The letter was read by senator Ewa Gawęda: “For many years to come, coal will be an important fuel for our economy. Silesia is the industrial heart of Poland and we want this heart to beat even stronger. We want Silesia to be our mine of innovation”.
Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa is precisely on the first line of innovation, implementing a number of very significant investments this year. Their total value is in excess of PLN 2 billion. “JSW is a company that executes its plans perfectly and uses innovation brilliantly through cooperation with scientific and research facilities,” said Adam Gawęda, Secretary of State at the Ministry of State Assets and Government Representative for the Restructuring of the Coal Mining Industry.
Among the company’s key investments is the construction of a modern mine called “Jastrzębie-Bzie” (formerly, “Bzie-Dębina”), which has type 35 coking coal deposits estimated at 180 million tons. A breakthrough in the Polish mining industry is the new bolter miner that has been in operation at the Budryk Mine since November. Another innovation is the country’s most technologically advanced longwall shearer acquired for the same mine. JSW is also investing in a modern and, above all, safe system of underground transport. “Our investments in innovative technologies will bring measurable benefits to both Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa and the region of Silesia. New jobs will be created, the region’s potential will improve and, what is very important, our taxes will be credited to the bank accounts of the municipalities in which we live,” added Włodzimierz Hereźniak, President of the JSW SA Management Board.
Currently, the JSW Group has 30,000 employees, who after the first 9 months of this year generated PLN 704.4 million in profit, having mined 10.9 million tons of coal and produced 2.5 million tons of coke. Of great significance is the contribution provided by the Zofiówka Section, which during this year’s Saint Barbara Festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary. “Half a century of this mine is a thousand kilometers of roadway excavations and 121 million tons of coal mined. I would like to thank the former employees of this mine and its former management for their efforts enabling 3,600 people to have a job in the mine today. Workplaces such as this mine, where values such as tradition and history are remembered, create valuable citizens of the country,” summed up Waldemar Stachura, Director of the Borynia-Zofiówka-Jastrzębie Mine.
