The Bełchatów mine shuts down its first open pit. “We are ready for this challenge”

The mining and energy complex in Bełchatów is entering a key stage of energy transformation. In the coming year, brown coal mining in the Bełchatów Field, which has been ongoing for 45 years, will end. Almost the entire history of the mine and power plant is related to this open pit.

As Joanna Blewąska, spokeswoman for PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Nowoczesnańska, recalled in an interview with PAP, the accidental discovery during the search for natural gas in 1960 of a large, rich and favorable lignite deposit near Bełchatów was the impulse to launch the largest energy complex in Poland in later years.

1.1 billion tons of coal for 45 years

– The first coal from the Bełchatów Field was extracted by the SRs2000 /K-36/ excavator on November 19, 1980. This moment was permanently recorded in the history of the region, starting a new chapter for Bełchatów, Poland and the entire energy industry. Following coal, next to the mine, the Bełchatów Power Plant was built, the largest facility of this type in Europe and a key energy source ensuring the country's energy security, she said.

She added that production from the Bełchatów Field increased along with the needs of the power plantand the mine achieved its target mining capacity of 38.5 million tons per year in 1988. However, in recent years, due to the depletion of resources, the exploitation of this open pit has been successively reduced, and in the third quarter of 2026 it will end completely.

– A total of approximately 1.1 billion tons of brown coal have been extracted from the Bełchatów Field so far. Approximately 0.7 million tons remain until the end of exploitation. However, this does not mean the end of the mine's operations. Mining will continue in the Szczerców Field, where exploitation is planned until approximately 2036, with the license valid until 2038, the spokeswoman noted.

The end of the Bełchatów Field, but not the mine

Currently, two excavators are working in the Bełchatów Field. There are ten of them in the Szczerców Field. Machines finishing mining in one open pit are successively moved to another. However, the stackers will remain in the excavation and will be used for work related to the formation of slopes and the preparation of the area for recultivation.

– At the same time, the process of recultivation of post-mining areas is being carried out. So far, over two thousand hectares have been afforested, and work is underway on an area of ​​522 hectares. After completion of mining in the Bełchatów Field and Szczerców Field It is also planned to create a water reservoir with a water surface area of ​​approx. 3.8 thousand m2. ha. It will be the deepest lake in Poland – Blewąska explained.

The Bełchatów complex admits that the end of deposit exploitation in one of the two open pits is not only a historic moment, but also a key stage of the energy transformation.

The end of mining in the Bełchatów Field is a symbolic sign of the times, but also the moment when the energy transformation ceases to be a plan and becomes a process implemented in the center of Poland, with consequences for the entire country – emphasized Jacek Kaczorowski, president of PGE GiEK.

He added that the energy transformation, which includes, among others, moving away from coal and replacing it with other energy sources in the Bełchatów region is gradual and based on the use of existing employee competences and technical infrastructure.

– We treat many years of mining and energy experience as the foundation for the development of new technologies. Transformation is a real path to maintaining production potential and jobs in the region, he argued.

Bełchatów is fighting for the location of an expensive nuclear power plant

Kaczorowski emphasized that nuclear energy is an element of a just transformation and a great opportunity for Bełchatów. This region is mentioned as one of the key locations taken into account in the context of the development of new energy, including the project of the second large-scale nuclear power plant in Poland.

According to the head of PGE GiEK, Bełchatów has all the advantages of a social and technological nature until the government decides to locate the country's second nuclear power plant here. These are the existing power output of 5.5 GW, water resources enabling the location of a large-scale project with a capacity of 3 GW in the first stage, geological and hydrological documentation, engineering and technical staff and involvement in the idea of ​​​​the social side.

This includes: support for this idea of ​​local governments from the province. Łódź. In December, the City Council in Radomsko unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the location of a nuclear power plant in Bełchatów, seeing it as an opportunity for energy transformation, energy security and new jobs. Earlier, councilors from 25 local governments in the Łódź region expressed similar support, including: the Łódź Voivodeship Assembly and the City Councils in Łódź and Bełchatów.

– I wish Bełchatów to build a new future based on modern low- and zero-emission energy sources. I also mean the nuclear project. We are ready to carry out this gigantic undertaking – assured President Kaczorowski.

The Bełchatów Mine currently employs 3.9 thousand people. people, and in the Bełchatów Power Plant – 2.5 thousand. Currently, the company is implementing the Voluntary Redundancy Program. As part of the first stage, the employment contract will be terminated for a total of 218 employees at the Bełchatów Mine and Power Plant.

Bartłomiej Pawlak (PAP)

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