Economy and Labor Ministry to publish blacklist of unviable mines

Experts from the Economy and Labor Ministry have completed a report ranking domestic mines and dividing them into those which are profitable, unprofitable and those which have to be liquidated. It is still unclear how the government will receive the report, however it was revealed that 12 mines will run out of coal before 2020, and therefore have to be closed down. The ranking was calculated on the basis of comparisons between coal's sale price, and unit costs. One of the least profitable mines is "Silesia", which has coal reserves for the next 400 years and employs 1,300 workers. "We have cut employment by 2,000 in recent years. There is no way we will agree to closing the pit," said Kazimierz Żyrek, head of the Solidarity union in Silesia. To date, nobody from the coal industry has been willing to specify exactly which plants will be liquidated or when. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) A.K.