Czech miner digging Poland

Czech coal firm New World Resources (NWR), a holding controlled by Czech billionaire Zdenek Bakala, has ambitious plans for Poland's Dębieńsko and Morcinek mines. "The cost of constructing a new mine on the site of the closed Dębieńsko mine will amount to €600-800 [zł.2,052-2,736] million. It will create as many as 3,000 jobs. This will be the first private coal-mining project of such a scale in Poland," said Bakala.

According to the firm's estimates, extraction will reach four million tonnes annually. Funds for the investment will be obtained from the Warsaw bourse when NWR debuts on May 14. Shortly before its WSE debut, the firm plans to raise around £1.1 (zł.4.74) billion from an IPO on the London Stock Exchange.

The coal giant has set the price range for its IPO at £10.75-13.25 (zł.46-57) per share, amounting to the largest IPO of any Czech company in history and the largest in London so far this year. The listing was postponed in December due to poor market conditions. NWR also plans to list on the Prague bourse before its Warsaw debut.

It has not yet been revealed how much money will be designated to the Morcinek mine, as work on the project is still in the initial phase. Bakala announced, however, that within two years the firm would invest "a few hundred million euro" in equipping the mines with new technologies.

NWR is also considering further investments and acquisitions, but has not yet given any details.