Polish mining firms will be spending billions on new equipment Shutterstock

Poland’s largest mining companies, Kompania Węglowa, Katowicki Holding Węglowy and Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, will spend about zł.7 billion on investments in the years 2013-2015, Deputy Economy Minister Tomasz Tomczykiewicz said last week.

About 75 percent of this money will be spent on maintaining production levels, through drilling or the purchase of mining equipment, Mr Tomczykiewicz added.

The Economy Ministry said that since 2008, investments in the mining sector have surpassed zł.2 billion annually. In 2012, they were an estimated zł.3.7 billion.

This year, Kompania Węglowa, the biggest coal producer in the European Union, expects roughly zł.100 million in net profit, while preliminary 2012 results show zł.150 million or “a bit more” in net earnings, Joanna Strzelec-Łobodzinska, the company’s president, announced in January.

Kompania Węglowa’s production output reached 39.28 million metric tons last year, in line with the firm’s plans, while in 2013 production is expected to come down to some 36.5 million tons.

The company is currently in talks with two Asian partners on establishing a special purpose vehicle to build a power plant with a capacity of 1,000 MW for about zł.6 billion, where Kompania Węglowa would hold less than a 50 percent stake. The deal is expected to be agreed upon by summer.

Meanwhile, according to preliminary data, Katowicki Holding Węglowy had a net profit of zł.52 million last year. The last of the trio, Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, is expected to make a net profit of roughly zł.1 billion for last year while it expects zł.500-600 million in profit this year.

Remi Adekoya