Poland's mining industry secure

Poland's minister of economy, Waldemar Pawlak assured miners that they may be at ease about the future of the mining industry in spite of increasing economy standards, while he visited the Silesia region for the traditional miners' celebrations. However, he emphasized that this sector requires support in its developing investments.

Investment and development will make new coal deposits accessible, said Pawlak, which are important for mines extracting capacity as well as Poland's energy security. EU's regulations allow financing for such investments directly from public sources, however, in Polish budget the issue of money for this purpose has not been taken into consideration.

According to Pawlak, mining and power industry must direct themselves to "solutions making it possible to use coal in a wide and secure scope, keeping the environment in mind." He also announced a "green light" for wider exploitation of methane, which is present in coal deposits.