There is work for miners. As many as 300 people will benefit from the social contract
Polska Grupa Górnicza signed an agreement with Węglokoks Kraj regarding the employment of miners from the now closed mine in Bytom. The Bobrek mine is being closed down as of January 1, 2026.
In 2025, experts from the Natural Hazards Committee of the State Mining Authority issued a negative opinion on further mining in the Bobrek mine, because there is no safe technology that would make it possible. But first, a 36-year-old miner from Bytom lost his life. He orphaned two children.
The transfer to another mine takes place at the request of the miners and by agreement of the parties, and the entire employment process is conducted by Polska Grupa Górnicza, which will select people who meet the formal and qualification criteria related to hard coal mining.
The last shock and collapse in the Borek mine
Every year, approximately 1.5 thousand cases are recorded in the area of operation of Polish hard coal mines. shocks classified as high-energy (magnitude above 1.7). The majority of tremors, even if felt at the surface, have no negative effects, but some tremors are rock bursts that cause damage to infrastructure underground or on the surface.
March 26, 2024 at On March 17, one of the injured miners died in a tunnel in the Bobrek mine. The incident occurred in the 1M roadway when a roadheader was cutting it. It is known that the strength of the shock corresponded to 2.37 degrees on the Richter scale. It was felt by the inhabitants of both Bytom and Ruda Śląska.
End of coal federation in Bytom
The last ton of coal was extracted in the Bytom mine on December 30, 2025. At the time of closure, nearly 1,800 people worked in the mine. As of January 1, 2026, the mine went into liquidation – 15 years earlier than anticipated in the social agreement signed with the mining trade unions during the PiS government. It practically means the end of mining in the city where coal has been mined for over 230 years.
The underground mines are still being decommissioned, and dozens of structures are being prepared for demolition on the surface. By the end of 2026, 250 people will leave the mine, and 246 will take mining holidays.
Bytom will still have to deal with the effects of federation, such as mining damage and the need to pump water from the resulting basins. The city plans to develop these areas, focusing on new economic functions, including: logistics hub.
Węglokoks Kraj is still a producer of steam coal. The “Julian” Coal Enrichment Plant in Piekary Śląskie continues to operate. In 2015, the company incorporated two hard coal mines – KWK Bobrek in Bytom and KWK Piekary in Piekary Śląskie, employing a total of approximately 2,900 employees. The mines were then combined into one two-motion plant – KWK Bobrek-Piekary.
Polska Grupa Górnicza is the largest mining company in Europe and the largest producer of hard coal in the European Union.
