Dębieńsko project

NWR KARBONIA is responsible for the Dębieńsko 1 project. This is our most advanced expansion project, and it has 190 million tonnes of JORC recognised coking coal reserves, with some seams 1,400m deep. “Debiensko 1” is located in southern Poland, 40 km from the Czech border in the town of Czerwionka-Leszczyny near the city of Rybnik in Upper Silesia. We hold a 50-year mining licence for Dębieńsko, granted in 2008.

The Company has also completed an alternative mining plan that is based on the development of additional coal seams. This new approach will reduce the investment cost and development time to bring the mine on stream, compared with the original plan. NWR KARBONIA is in the process of applying for an amendment to the current “Dębieńsko 1” licence in order to include additional coal seams to those already included in the licence.

NWR is preparing to invest several hundred millions euros in the development of the mine at “Dębieńsko 1”, approximately half of which will be spent on demolition, renovation and construction work. The opening of the mine will create approximately 2,500 jobs for local people.

Project phases

Project Dębieńsko in 2011

On 20 June 2011, NWR announced that the Board of Directors gave its approval for the Debiensko project, based on the Detailed Feasibility Study, an extensive internal review of the project, and general market considerations.

The official ground ceremony took place on 3 December 2011 in conjunction with the St Barbara’s Day celebrations for the region’s Patron Saint of Miners. The ground breaking marked the start of work on the portal opening or ‘box-cut’ for Slope 1, the first of two planned slopes into the mine, which was cleared and prepared for construction.

In 2011 we also finished the construction works on the old building of Cechownia.

Gallery here »

Project Dębieńsko in 2012

We are working on the construction of the portal opening for Slope 1 and this will be followed by the excavation of Slope 1, upon completion of a contractor tender.

At the beginning of the second quarter of 2012 we plan to start all the necessary infrastructure surface works that are needed to run the mine. A second office building will be finished in mid-2012.

We applied for an amendment to our license, granted in 2008, to enable the Company to mine shallower coal seams at Dębieńsko and we are now awaiting approval.

We are supporting mining studies at the Zespół school in Czerwionka - Leszczyny, and we awarded the first scholarships to students on 29 March. This project was welcomed by the local municipalities, and it is one of our long-term projects to support mining education in Czerwionka – Leszczyny.

We continue to receive job applications, which in April stood at more than 2,500. They shall all be taken into consideration when the employment processes begin.

Gallery here »