Environment ministry denies Prairie Mining motion to delay Dębieńsko mine production

WSE-listed coal miner Prairie Mining had its motion to extend coal production at its Dębieńsko mine concession denied by the ministry of environment. The company wanted to extend the current 2018 deadline to 2025. “Prairie is convinced that the reasons for the decision are flawed and do not take into account legal requirements, public interest, company facts and change requests, which provides further evidence of discriminatory treatment of Prairie as a foreign investor in Poland, the company announced in a market filing adding that it will appeal the decision. Prairie added that the ministry waited 17 months to issue a decision, while it was legally obliged to respond within 2 months. “The company will consider all other activities necessary to preserve the rights resulting from the concession, which may result in further action against the ministry, including the recall of rights under bilateral or multilateral treaties on mutual protection of investments, as well as other activities that the company will then deem appropriate,” Prairie added. The company filed the motion to delay production start back in December 2016. The license for the deposit was granted for 50 years and expires in 2058. At the same time, Prairie is continuing talks with Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) regarding possible transaction options for coking coal extraction projects in Poland, also indicated.