JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - With the Polish government strongly supporting the development of new, modernised coal mines, ASX-listed Prairie Mining is upbeat about its Debiensko coking coal project, located in the country's Upper Silesian region.
The miner explained that during the quarter ended December 31, Poland's newly appointed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki officially presented the Ministry of Development's Programme for Silesia, which included a strategy for the restart of a major coking coal mine in the area.
The company highlighted that mine site redevelopment planning at Debiensko continued to advance, with the completion of initial demolition works, prequalification of study contractors, and the preparation for an infill drill programme to increase Joint Ore Reserves Committee measured and indicated resources.
Prairie further continued discussions with steel makers and coke producers throughout the quarter for future coking coal sales and offtake at its Jan Karski semi-soft coking coal mine.
Environmental permitting at the mine advanced following successful submission of the environmental and social impact assessment (Esia) to the Lublin Regional Environment Directorate for Environmental Consent.
Preparation of the mining concession application was also under way and anticipated to be lodged during the first quarter this year.
CEO Ben Stoikovich noted that following the submission of the Esia and initiation of public consultations, Prairie would continue towards applying for a mining concession to start construction of the Jan Karski mine together with its strategic partner China Coal.
"China Coal's technical and economic studies have progressed positively, and our team is in the process of preparing a full mining concession application for Jan Karski.
"At Debiensko, we continue to plan our mine site redevelopment programme in a positive market environment with increased coking coal demand from Europe's steel producers coupled with reducing European supply. We welcome the news that the Polish government have officially included the restart of a coking coal mine in the Programme for Silesia, the region where our Debiensko project is located," he added.