ENVIRONMENT

PG SILESIA is aware that its activities have an impact on environment. The company takes actions to prevent the negative effects of exploitation and it continuously aims to improve the quality of environment.

Air Protection

PG SILESIA does not have organized sources of dust-gas emission into the air. Disorganized emission occurs at the Coal Treatment Plant. The amount of emission from Treatment Plant is negligible since the coal is enriched in a wet process.

Protection against noise

Noise coming from the mine area to the environment is called industrial or environmental noise. Acceptable levels of noise penetrating into the environment are defined in the Regulation of the Minister of Environment, dated 14th of June 2007, on the permissible noise levels in the environment (Journal of Laws No. 120, item. 826).

At PG SILESIA there has not been any exceeding of the permissible level of noise penetrating into the environment.

Management of mining and coal processing waste

PG SILESIA activities mean exploitation and mechanical processing of coal that is why the main waste produced while these activities are rock waste from development and access roads’ preparation and waste from washing process at the Treatment Plant.

Waste management is conducted in accordance with the decision of the Marshal of Silesian Voivodeship. PG SILESIA pursues limiting the amount of waste from excavation processes, and in connection to this, it has obtained a decision allowing retrieving the material as a part of permission to produce solid fuel for energy industry, and semi-products used in production of fuel for energy industry. The decision obtained allows also to retrieve the material as a part of the process of building technological access road and partition in Sludge Reservoir in Kaniów. Other extractive waste pursuant to a decision of Silesian Voivodeship are subject to recovery in a process involving the production of crushed stone and recovery in the process of curing or filling the unfavorably transformed land.

Through the activities of the PG SILESIA there are also hazardous or non-hazardous waste created. Waste handling at the mine is in compliance with applicable environmental regulations. There is a waste record done and annual set of data is delivered to Marshal of Silesian Voivodeship.

Surface water

The Vistula River is the receiver of saline mine water discharged into the river by the coal mines, including PG SILESIA. Underground water is delivered to water reservoir in Kaniów from main drainage pump located on level VI. Water reservoir was built at the corner of existing sludge reservoir on the area separated by embankments. Salt water from reservoir is discharged to the Vistula River by dump ditch which runs through the right inter-river. The water is discharged into the Vistula in such quantity that the concentration of total chlorides and sulfates below the dump point after full mixing does not exceed 1g/dm3 to meet the condition defined in the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment*. Monitoring of mine water and water in the Vistula and the Biała river is kept systematically once a quarter, regardless work of reservoir in Kaniów, and at the time of discharge from the reservoir – dosing once daily.

Research carried out by an accredited laboratory confirmed the fact that the PG SILESIA met conditions defined by the Decision of Silesian Governor.

* Regulation of the Minister of the Environment * dated July 24, 2006 on the conditions to be met when sewage is to be discharged into water or soil and on substances particularly harmful to the aquatic environment (Journal of Laws No. 137, item. 984).