Pniówek mine has been mining for 50 years

The Pniówek mine is 50 years old, but geological and prospecting work on coal deposits in its current mining area was carried out as early as the turn of the 19th century. The first boreholes were drilled in 1890-1909. Even before World War I, the Duke of Pszczyna's Coal Organization, which held a mining licence, was planning to build a mine in the area. But the plans ended there. 

Since 1956, in connection with the expansion of the Rybnik Coal District, intensive geological and prospecting work of the deposit by boreholes began, which continued with varying intensity until 1981. The first mining area in the site that now belongs to Pniówek under the name “Krzyżowice" was established in 1962. The project developed at that time envisaged the construction of a mine at this site with a classic, two-level model, with a target output of 15 thousand tons of coal per day. The investment project was expected to take 9-15 years to complete. On the basis of the design, the then Deputy Prime Minister issued permits to begin construction of the mine. Development work began in the second quarter of 1963. However, the work was halted in February of the following year due to restrictions on mining investments. One of the reasons was the theory about the so-called twilight of coal promoted at the time.
 

Pniówek's new design

The investment was revisited in 1966. At that time, a team of the Minister of Mines and Energy was established to develop a new conceptual design for the Pniówek mine, with a single-level model, including a high concentration of output of 15,000 tons of coal.

The concept was adopted in 1967 by the then College of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. After 27 boreholes were drilled in the "Krzyzowice" field and geological documentation was prepared in 1968, in 1970 a decision was made to begin construction of the mine. At the same time, a new mining area was set up under the name "Krzyzowice I" and shaft sinking began. The foundation act for the construction of the Pniówek mine was laid on 12 July 1971. A year later, the excavation of drifts at the 580m and 705m levels began.

The construction of the Pniówek mine was the most important investment in Polish coal mining in 1966-1974. It was implemented with a shortened cycle, limiting the first coal extraction, by using the slide-on technique of previously assembled structures, mainly shaft towers. In August 1974, mining of seam 359/1 in longwall S-1 began, and a year later, mining of seams 359/3 and 360/1 started. The Pniówek mine was officially launched during Miners’ Day celebrations on 4 December 1974.

It was a production unit with a single mining section, in a geometric model of providing access to the seams on the 705m (mining) and 580m (ventilation) levels.

The mine has five shafts, three of which are located in the main site. The other two are peripheral. The main underground transport is provided by fully automated belt conveyors, coupled to coal equalization tanks. Material transport to longwall working faces and mine headings is carried out by suspended cable cars.

Enrichment of all excavated material is carried out at the Coal Preparation Plant. The mine reached the verified capacity of 12,500 tons per day in 1986 - 12 years after start-up.
 

High-quality coking coal

The Pniówek mine operates in two deposits, Pniówek and Pawłowice 1. They have been documented up to the depth of 1,300 meters. They stand out with a high abundance of coking coal with very good parameters, the quality of which increases with depth. The distribution of coal types indicates a significant predominance of hard coking coal, types 35.1 and 35.2. They account for about 74 percent of the resources. The remaining volume consists of coking gas coal, types 34.1 and 34.2. There are 62 documented seams, including 24 industrial. The thickness of the deposits ranges from 0.7 to 6.5 meters. Coal resources in both deposits as at 31 December 2023, scheduled for development during the term of the license until 31 December 2051, are: resources - 1,523,782 thousand tons, economic reserves - 217,695 thousand tons, recoverable reserves - 127,052 thousand tons.
 

We remember

The Pniówek mine also has tragic events in its history. April 2022 saw one of the biggest disasters in the history of Polish mining. The methane explosions killed 16 miners and injured 30. After further explosions, the rescue operation was suspended, and the body of the last miner was not found until October 2023.
 

The mine continues to grow

Although 50 years have passed since Pniówek was launched, the mine is still in development. A number of investments are being made, which are necessary for its proper operation and ensuring high levels of production.

The most important investments currently underway at the Pniówek mine are:

• Shaft III was recently deepened to level 1053,
• Extending the mine hoist of shaft II to level 1000 (eastern section),
• Purchase of land for the expansion of the "Koscielniok" land facility,
• Coal Preparation Plant - modernization of the water and sludge recirculation and the secondary system for partings enrichment,
• Development of mine methane drainage system - MERP,
• Expansion of the parking lot for mine employees,
• Construction of a hot water system in the shower room building.

Over the 50 years of its operation, the Pniówek mine has drilled a total of 1,186,250 m of mine headings and mined 153,738,657 tons of coal.