The UK-based company said Alektrometal’s Maciej Koczwara, Andzej Szatanik and Marek Sikora would spend a week at the Trolex headquarters in Manchester for product training and to learn about the aspects of mine air and gas ventilation monitoring.

The group will also be trained on cutting machine monitoring and mine automation systems.

“Trolex has been without effective distribution in Poland for too long and we are very excited about partnering with Elektrometal,” international sales director Neil McDonald said.

“With our modern ATEX-certified products and Elektrometal's sales and service coverage, we are convinced that we have a genuinely useful and competitive offering, which gives mines in Poland a real alternative to their usual suppliers."

According to Trolex, Silesia has 41 coal mines, most of which are in the Gornoslaskie Zaglebie Weglowe coalfield in the Silesian Upland near Elektrometal’s headquarters.

While the coalfield has a square area of about 4500km, reserves in Lower Silesia have been difficult to reach, an issue that led to the area’s unprofitable mines being closed in 2000.

In 2008, lignite reserves estimated to total 35 billion tonnes – a block among the largest in the world – were discovered near Legnica.

Elektrometal SA, based in Cieszyn, Silesia, has worked extensively in the Polish and Czech mining sector.

Earlier this year, Trolex’s Sentrum system was hand-picked for a European Union-funded methane-extraction program to aid in the development of cost-effective energy technologies aimed at creating a more sustainable energy economy for Europe.

The project, carried out in conjunction with the Royal School of Mines at Imperial College, London, included pilot sites at two gassy coal mines in China and a coal mine in India.

The aim of the project was to achieve significant improvements in methane drainage efficiency, enabled by Trolex’s Sentrum systems, which deliver accurate and reliable methane recovery monitoring.

As part of the project, Trolex provided a mine upcast ventilation shaft airflow and methane concentration monitoring system to assist with a ventilation air methane utilization system research and feasibility assessment.