Innovative management of hard coal resources in line with rational deposit management

Abstract

The European Union, according to the European Green Deal, aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Following this ruling, Poland plans to move to a low-carbon economy, which means progressive closure of Polish hard coal mines. In order to minimize the negative effect of this process on Polish society, we propose a method that supports management of coal deposits by assessing the dynamic resource base, which considers the economic value and cost of coalfields and helps in choosing the most viable exploitation plan. The method uses data extracted from geological and mining structure models to estimate the margin of exploitation of coalfields in multiple variants. The method then adjusts the results by geological and mining conditions including the nuisance factor, and uses it to estimate a variable discount rate and the net present value of each variant. This way, the resource base aligns with the JORC Code, which considers resources as mineable only if this can be done  safely and profitably. The method allows for adjusting plans along with changing market conditions. In order to implement this method it is necessary to align Polish mining law with international standards and to deploy advanced digital tools, which may only be achieved by close cooperation between the state, geological administration, mining supervisory institutions and mining companies.