In January, the neighboring Czech Republic stopped producing hard coal, leaving Poland as the only country in the 27-nation bloc still mining it.
According to a new report by the Instrat Foundation, a Warsaw-based think tank, both employment and profitability in the sector are falling.
The state-run Industrial Development Agency (ARP) said Poland's mining sector as a whole lost more than PLN 8 billion (EUR 1.85 billion, USD 2.15 billion) in 2025, continuing a trend seen in previous years.
"Mining hard coal in Poland is not profitable anymore," said Michał Hetmański, head of the Instrat Foundation. "We need to face the truth: the market has verified the future of mining."
"In a few years' time, our hard coal demand will be satisfied by two to three mining facilities," he added.
Since 2022, the cost of producing 1 tonne of hard coal has increased, while employment and output have declined, the Instrat Foundation said.
Only two of the country's 12 coal-mining companies reported a net profit last year, Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka and Południowy Koncern Węglowy.
The PG Silesia coal mine in Czechowice-Dziedzice, southern Poland. Photo: PAP/Kasia Zaremba
The study identified a 21-percent decline in methane emissions from Poland's hard coal mining sector as a positive trend. The sector accounts for about one-third of the country's total methane emissions.
Methane traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, contributing to global warming.
A Future Mining Forum & Expo will be held in September in Katowice, southern Poland. The event will focus on global prospects for the mining, metallurgical and raw materials sectors.
(sp/gs)
Source: instrat.pl