Deputy State Assets Minister Adam Gawęda said recently, “the central depot for thermal coal reserves will receive a surplus of the raw material, it is expected to be created in a matter of days, in order not to affect production levels at the mines.”
Talks with mining and energy companies on the depot’s construction are underway, the official said.
“The situation in the Polish mines is stable,” the minister said, adding that “the Ministry of State Assets has undertaken action aimed at unblocking backlogs in all of the mines so as to enable secure exploitation.”
The official said that the depot would store around 1 mln tonnes of coal, adding that the current coal reserves in the Polish mines exceed 3 mln tonnes and 1 mln tonnes in the energy sector. Mr Gawęda stressed that the large backlogged quantity is the consequence of a warm winter.
Poland’s coal import in 2019, the official noticed, had dropped significantly in comparison to 2018, namely by around 3 mln tonnes.
Recently the ministry has reported that Poland imported 8 mln tonnes of coal from Russia between January and August 2019. Poland imported a total of 12.3 mln tonnes of coal, whilst the domestic industry amounted to 46 mln tonnes.