The Polish state owned coal mining and trading company, Weglokoks Kraj, and the government’s Central Mining Institute signed an agreement with Joy Global to begin work on implementing modern roof bolting technology with coal extraction using continuous miners at the Piekary underground coal mine in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin.

Roof bolting and continuous miner extraction methods were already successfully implemented in New World Resources “CSM” mine in the Czech Republic over the last two years, which is in the same coal basin as the Upper Silesian coal mines in Poland and shares similar geological and mining conditions.

Deputy energy minister Grzegorz Tobiszewski said: “I’m delighted that just as we are restructuring the Polish [hard coal] mining industry, that modern technologies are being brought forward and implemented to lower the production costs of Polish coal mines.”

In late February 2016, AGH, the leading mining university in Poland, organized its flagship annual “XXV School of Underground Mining Conference” with a key theme of roof bolting.

This conference, held in Krakow, gathers academics, officials from the government coal mining authorities, executives of Polish coal mining companies, mining engineers and representatives of mine design institutes for a week of interactive sessions.

Australian company Prairie Mining was invited by AGH to make a keynote presentation at the event with Prairie CEO Benjamin Stoikovich presenting on the low cost mine design for the Lublin Coal Project in Poland.

Prairie is in the final stages of completing its pre-feasibility study for the Lublin Coal

Project which will include roof bolting technology and associated roadway development

costs that are expected to be some 60% lower than traditional Polish steel arch roadways

“Prairie is in the final stages of completing its PFS so we have undertaken a substantial amount of technical analysis of the cost benefits roof bolting brings to underground coal mining,” he said. “We are expecting to see substantial reductions in operating expenditure from the results of our upcoming PFS, when compared to traditional coal mines where steel arch roadways are the primary support method.”

Prairie executive Mirosław Taras said: “The agreement between Weglokoks, GIG and Joy Global to introduce roof bolting into the Piekary mine, as well as the success of the AGH conference, demonstrates the Polish coal mining industry’s willingness to deploy international mining practices, including advanced roof bolting technology.