Coal mining in Poland is at a turning point, with the country’s largest companies – Polska Grupa Górnicza (PGG) and Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) – facing declining coal production and mounting financial pressures. Rising mining costs, falling coal prices, growing stockpiles, and ongoing subsidies are adding to the sector’s challenges. At the same time, reducing methane emissions has become an increasingly urgent task, while mine closure schedules lag behind domestic coal consumption forecasts. The energy.instrat.pl mine database provides up-to-date data on individual mines, making it easy to track key statistics and analyze trends in Polish coal mining.
Contents
Key facts about coal mining in Poland
- The largest mining companies in Poland include: PGG – 7 mines, JSW – 4 mines, PKW – 3 mines, and LW Bogdanka – 1 mine
- Hard coal production in 2024 fell to 40.2 million tons (-5.5% compared to 2023). The largest decline among companies was recorded by PGG (3.9 million tons according to the company’s reports, which is 18% less year-on-year), but it still produces the most among coal companies. The leader in production among mines is LW Bogdanka, which, according to its own reports, extracted 8 million tons, representing an annual increase of 12%.
- Lignite production increased to 43.5 million tons (+2%). KWB Bełchatów remains the largest mine in terms of production with 34 million tons.
- Methane emissions from Polish mines fell by 4% in 2024 to 393 000 tons.
- There are 12 mining companies operating in the country, the largest of which are PGG (hard coal) and PGE GiEK (lignite).
- Currently, there are in total 23 mines active in Poland, which extract coal from 49 deposits (as of September 1, 2025).
Link to the database: coal mines in Poland
The database is in the form of a readable Google Sheets file and can be found on the “Coal mines in Poland” page, along with a full set of visualisations of selected data. Below, we discuss data on the coal mining sector in Poland based on information from the database. At the end of the article, we describe the changes that have been made since the last version, summarise all the types of information that can be found in the database, and announce the next update.
Map of coal mines in Poland
The mines are located in seven voivodships. Hard coal is mined in Śląskie, Małopolskie and Lubelskie Voivodships. Lignite opencast mines are located in the voivodships of Lubuskie, Dolnośląskie, Łódzkie, and Wielkopolskie, with mining in the latter to cease in 2026. This is of historical significance – Eastern Greater Poland was the first large mining district in Poland after World War II.
It is worth noting the hydrological pressure exerted by mining on the country’s largest rivers, the Vistula and the Oder, as well as on groundwater. In regions with opencast lignite mines, there are increased problems resulting from the flow of groundwater into the resulting depression. The Oder is regularly affected by environmental disasters resulting from the salinisation of water due to the drainage of mines in Silesia. Significant amounts of dangerous brine also end up in the Vistula.
Methane emissions from hard coal mines in 2024
In 2024, Polish hard coal mines emitted 377 000 tonnes of methane, which represents a 4% decrease compared to 2023 (393 000 tonnes).
The leader in total methane emissions into the atmosphere among mines remains KWK Knurów-Szczygłowice with emissions of 89 300 tonnes, which represents an increase of 39.9% compared to the previous year (63 800 tonnes). The second largest direct emitter was the KWK Borynia-Zofiówka mine – 49 300 tonnes, which, however, recorded a decrease of 11.4% year-on-year (55 700 tonnes). Both of the above-mentioned mines belong to Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. Among the deposits, the undisputed leader is the Szczygłowice deposit, from which 81 400 tonnes of methane were released – as much as 63.6% more than in 2023! This has a comparable impact on the climate to the annual CO2 emissions of the Turów power plant.
Today, no mining company or methane mine complies with the EU emission limits that will come into force in 1.5 years. According to the EU methane regulation, from 2027, mines will not be allowed to emit more than 5 tonnes of CH₄ per 1 kt of coal (3 tonnes of CH₄ per 1 kt of coal from 2031).
The ZG Brzeszcze mine leads the relative methane ranking, emitting 39.3 tonnes of CH₄ per thousand tonnes of coal mined (a total of 27 000 tonnes of direct emissions). It is followed closely by KWK Sośnica with a relative methane intensity of 30 tonnes of CH₄ per tonne of coal (22 900 tonnes of total emissions). For the first time in nine years, the Bolesław Śmiały mine (PGG) recorded methane emissions, but these amounted to only 580 tonnes per year. As many as seven out of 19 active hard coal mines did not record any methane emissions.
The two largest mining companies, responsible for 90% of methane emissions from Polish mines, recorded a minimal decrease in methane emissions in 2024 compared to the previous year: 3% at PGG and 1.5% at JSW. Both companies are striving to achieve specific emission reduction targets
PGG plans to reduce emissions to 90 000 tonnes by 2030 (a 30% decrease compared to 2024), as announced at a conference organised by Instrat and CATF in May this year, while JSW aims for a 30% reduction between 2018 and 2030.
Among mines, it is also worth monitoring the level of methane removal efficiency, calculated as the ratio of methane captured by methane removal stations to methane released from deposits. The best performers in this category are the KWK Sośnica (mentioned in the previous paragraph) and KWK Silesia mines, with efficiencies of 53.5% and 51.9%, respectively. On average, 38.2% of mine methane was captured by methane removal systems in 2024, of which 69.4% was used economically (WUG data).
Hard coal production in 2024
In 2024, total hard coal production amounted to 40.2 million tonnes, which is 5.5% less than in the previous year. This is net production – after waste separation and sorting (approx. 60-70% of the raw material extracted by mines). Coal was extracted from 38 deposits.
Among the companies’ data, the decline in production by almost 4 million tonnes (18%) at PGG stands out – in 2024, it amounted to 17.3 million tonnes, compared to 21.2 million tonnes a year earlier (data from reports). The company controls a great part of the coal market in Poland (38% of domestic production), has the most mines (7), employs the most people and receives the largest subsidies. However, it is oversized, and due to falling demand for coal, restructuring measures and an update of the mine closure schedule, which does not foresee any major changes until the late 2030s, are necessary.
JSW ranks second in terms of production (31% of domestic hard coal production according to PIG). It mainly extracts coal for coke production (81% of the total volume), so it does not compete in the same field as most mines. However, this does not mean it has an easy time; on the contrary, JSW’s situation is difficult, and the company is in financial trouble. Total production in 2024 amounted to 12.3 million tonnes (data from reports), a decrease of 9% year-on-year.
LW Bogdanka, as a single mine, is the leader in domestic production, both in terms of volume and production efficiency. However, the production data differ significantly between the two official sources for reasons that are not entirely clear. According to the company’s own reports, net production in 2024 amounted to 7.9 million tonnes, while the PIG data indicated 6 million tonnes. The mine supplies fuel almost exclusively to Enea, the mine’s main shareholder, which also owns large coal-fired power plants in Kozienice and Połaniec.
Lignite production in 2024
According to PIG data, lignite mining increased to 43.5 million tonnes, representing a 2.2% year-on-year increase. The production is handled almost entirely by a single company. Noticeable increases were recorded by the two other producers.
Breakdown of production by company and deposit:
- PGE GiEK – 41.5 million tonnes (95% of domestic production)
- Bełchatów – Szczerców field: 31.7 million tonnes (73% of the domestic output)
- Turów: 7.2 million tonnes (16.7%)
- Bełchatów – Bełchatów field: 2.5 million tonnes (5.7%)
- KWB Sieniawa – 1.1 million tonnes (2.5%)
- Sieniawa 2: 1.1 million tonnes (2.5%) – annual increase in production by as much as 40%
- PAK KWB Konin – 0.9 million tonnes (2.2%)
- Tomisławice: 0.9 million tonnes (2.2%) – almost double the 2023 figure
The most significant increase in 2024 took place at ZE PAK’s KWB Konin opencast mine in Tomisławice, which is soon to cease operations, but continues to supply the Pątnów II power unit. The coalbed turned out to be richer than originally estimated. The private Sieniawa opencast mine is attracting attention by increasing its output to over 1 million tonnes, supplying coal to the aforementioned Pątnów II unit. It is an unusual situation, as this is the only instance of transporting lignite across the country, rather than to the conjoined power plant. In terms of production, it has surpassed KWB Konin, which was once the second-largest lignite mine in Poland and is now entering its last year of operation.
Turów, on the other hand, recorded a 7% drop in production. The region is struggling, lacking a territorial just transition plan and a realistic schedule for phasing out production. Together with local government partners from the area, Instrat is supporting the preparation for the closure of the complex and the creation of new alternatives.
Number of mines, closure dates, organisational changes and important events
- In 2024, there were 19 active hard coal mines, organised into 17 movements, exploiting 38 deposits. During the year, coal extraction from the Bobrek-Miechowice 2 deposit, owned by the private ZG Siltech, was completed, leaving 37 deposits currently being exploited. In 2024, the Ostrów deposit belonging to LW Bogdanka was no longer exploited.
- In 2024, there were four lignite mines in operation, exploiting five deposits.
- PGG has the most hard coal mines in operation (7). Next is JSW (4), followed by PKW (3). The remaining five mining companies each have one mine, of which only ZG Siltech, PG SILESIA and EKO-PLUS are privately owned – the rest belong to state-owned companies.
- SRK (Spółka Restrukturyzacji Kopalń – mine restructuring company) is responsible for the liquidation of mines that were transferred by companies between 2000 and 2023. In 2024, the liquidation of the KWK Pokój I – Pokój II mine was completed. Meanwhile, two sections of the Jas-Mos – Jastrzębie III mine are currently being liquidated and should be completed in 2025.
Organisational changes that have taken place since January 2025:
- KWK Bobrek (formerly Bobrek-Piekary) will cease operations by the end of 2025 as a result of a negative decision on the possibility of safe mining operations issued by the natural hazards commission appointed by the President of the State Mining Authority.
- A new deposit, Dąb, has been added to the database. It is part of the ZG Sobieski mine, owned by Południowy Koncern Węglowy. The concession and preliminary exploitation began in 2018, but industrial-scale production started in 2024. The deposit is located in the municipalities of Chrzanów, Libiąż, Chełmek in the Małopolskie Voivodship and Imielin, Jaworzno in the Śląskie Voivodship. The concession is valid until the end of 2063, while the current date for the end of operation of the entire ZG Sobieski plant is 2049.
- Ruda Coal Mine: The Bielszowice section was to merge with the Halemba section by 1 July 2025, but the merger was suspended pending the amendment of the Act on the Functioning of Hard Coal Mining, which is to enable its liquidation.
- Borynia-Zofiówka-Bzie Coal Mine: change in structure from 3 movements (previously named Borynia-Zofiówka-Bzie) to two movements (now: Borynia-Zofiówka) from 24 January 2025.
- ZG Siltech has ceased exploitation of the Bobrek-Miechowice 2 deposit. The concession for the deposit has also expired. The mine is still extracting coal from the Jadwiga 2 deposit, but will cease operations completely at the end of 2025. The Ukrainian company Coal Energy has expressed an interest in acquiring the mine’s assets.
Other changes:
- The name of the Bobrek-Piekary coal mine has been changed to Bobrek (the change formally came into effect at the beginning of 2024).
Most recent version and full list of contents of the database
In the most recent update, we’ve entered statistics on coal production (according to both PIG and company reports) in 2024, methane emissions in 2024, and current information on the names, statuses, permits, and dates of operation of mines and deposits.
Complete list of database contents
- List of hard coal and lignite mines and deposits. In total, the database contains information on 34 mines and 70 deposits.
- Organisational structure: owner, mine, operations, deposits
- Extraction according to data from the Polish Geological Institute (PIG) and company reports
- Employment in mines
- Methane emissions from the State Mining Authority (WUG) and the National Centre for Emissions Balancing and Management (KOBiZE), and relative methane content (emissions per tonne of coal extracted)
- Mining start and closure dates and deposit exploitation
- Concessions: validity dates and identification numbers
- Location: town, voivodship, coordinates
- Extraction according to the geological classification of coal types
The database is prepared by the energy.instrat.pl team. All collected data, conclusions and visualisations are under an open licence – open data is the key to a transparent and fair transition.
Next update
In the next update of the database, we will supplement the employment data based on reports from mining companies. We will also introduce information from PIG deposit cards: deposit characteristics and production broken down by geological coal types.
