Turów Mine to Continue Operations

Mining operations at the Turów Mine are carried out under a licence issued in 1994, which has been extended until 2026. Continuing the extraction of lignite and other raw materials from the Turów deposit is in line with the principle of rational management of mineral deposits — in this case, coal.

“You provide service, you provide electricity, you provide business opportunities, jobs for hundreds of thousands of people, for millions of people, 5 to 7 per cent of the entire power grid,” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki while addressing the Turów Mine's personnel.

This decision allows mining to resume, thus enabling the continued operation of the Turów Power Plant, which supplies several per cent of Poland’s energy. PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna S.A. has been obliged to carry out operations under a decision on environmental approval issued by the Regional Director for Environmental Protection in Wrocław.

“Here, in Turów and Bogatynia, we promise that we will not allow the interests of Polish families, Polish workers, Polish entrepreneurs to be compromised, because our role as the Polish government is to guard these interests,” said the head of the Polish government.

Court Orders End to Mining

Yesterday’s ruling by a Warsaw court ordered the mine and the power plant to close by the end of 2026. The facilities in Turów and Bogatynia are essential to Poland’s uninterrupted electricity supply.  

“I want all of Poland to hear — this is not merely a ruling against the mines, this is a ruling against 60,000 people who work in and around the mines — contractors, jobs, the families of these people. It is also a ruling against energy security, energy security of millions of Polish families,” stressed the Prime Minister.

The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw has suspended the mine’s environmental approval in a flagrant violation of the law. It did not address PGE’s position and made its decision during a closed session, solely based on arguments put forth by green activists from Czechia and Germany.

Striving to Stabilise Poland’s Energy System

“A court ruling that is harmful, unjust, and acts to the detriment of Poles, Polish workers, and Polish families. Such a ruling is unlawful. Any ruling that destabilises the energy system is an illegal one,” the Prime Minister stressed.

PGE will use all available legal means in the complaint proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court against the ruling of the Voivodeship Administrative Court. Ceasing mining operations at Turów is not an option.

“We are the protectors of Polish mining — hard coal and lignite. We will not allow Polish mining to be shut down. We stand guard over Polish mining,” said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.