Poland's Bełchatów Coal Mine Production Falls as KGHM Expands Żelazny Most Tailings Dam

The KWB Bełchatów brown‑coal mine, the largest open‑pit mine in Poland, has seen its coal output drop sharply, delivering 3.3 million tonnes in 2022, 2 million tonnes in 2023 and 2.2 million tonnes in 2024. The remaining reserve at the Bełchatów field is just over 2 million tonnes, and the mining concession for this deposit ends in 2026. Apart from coal, the mine extracts hundreds of thousands of tonnes of ancillary minerals such as sand, clay, limestone and chalk, which are sold for construction and industrial uses.

KGHM Polska Miedź’s Żelazny Most tailings reservoir, the largest waste dam in Europe, covers more than 2,000 ha and can hold up to 950 million cubic metres of copper‑ore processing waste. About 30 million tonnes of tailings are deposited there each year, with only 2 % containing copper. The dam is being raised, aiming to reach 114 m by 2037—surpassing the Solina dam and securing the continuation of copper mining in the Legnica‑Głogów region for at least another decade.