Polish mining is shrinking. On a global scale, we are an invisible coal producer

• In February this year, monthly coal production amounted to 3.569 million tonnes, while monthly sales amounted to 3.537 million tonnes.
• In March 2024, it was possible to produce almost the same amount of 3.590 million tons of coal as this year. 3.236 million tons were sold then.
• Information on monthly levels of coal extraction and sales is provided by the Katowice branch of the Industrial Development Agency.

In October 2024, coal production in Polish mines amounted to 4.171 million tons, while in November it dropped to 3.893 million tons, and then in December to 3.852 million tons. In January 2025, it increased to 4.026 million tons, and in February it dropped again - to 3.590 million tons.

Sales in October last year amounted to 3.805 million tonnes, in November 4.001 million tonnes, in December 4.216 million tonnes, while in January 2025 4.255 million tonnes and in February 3.537 million tonnes.

In March 2025, the level of coal dumps reached over 5 million tons

In October 2024, there were 5.861 million tons of unsold raw material in the stockpiles, 5.743 million tons in November, and 5.360 million tons in December. In January 2025, the stockpile level was 5.088 million tons. In February, it dropped below 5 million tons for the first time since March last year - to 4.948 million tons. In March this year, it reached 5.130 million tons.

Employment in the hard coal sector amounted to 73,017 people at the end of March this year, while at the end of February this year it was 73,230 people, and at the end of March 2024 - 75,915 thousand people.

Domestic hard coal mining is shrinking. On a global scale, we are a virtually invisible producer of this raw material. In the whole of 2024, Polish mines extracted almost 44 million tons of hard coal, 4.3 million tons less than in 2023 (for comparison, India recently enthusiastically reported that it had exceeded one billion tons of production). Sales amounted to 42.5 million tons, 3.7 million tons less year-on-year. In 2023, extraction amounted to 48.3 million tons compared to over 52.8 million tons in 2022. In 2023, approx. 46.2 million tons of coal were sold compared to approx. 52.4 million tons in 2022.

It is worth mentioning that in February 2025, domestic coal for the power industry became 1.7% more expensive than in January (a month earlier, it had dropped by 21.3%), while for heating it was 5.4% cheaper in February - the drop a month earlier was 9.4%. Year-on-year, coal for the power industry was 25.9% cheaper in March 2025, and for heating by 20.1%.

The Katowice branch of the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) publishes monthly reports on indices illustrating the level of domestic coal prices for the power and heating sectors against the background of international prices.

The value of the national coal index for the energy sector amounted to PLN 356.91 per tonne in March this year.

The value of the national coal index for the energy sector amounted to PLN 356.91 per tonne in March this year (in qualitative terms, PLN 16.55 per gigajoule of energy generated from coal) compared to PLN 366.78 in February (PLN 16.78 per gigajoule), PLN 360.64 in January (PLN 16.63 per gigajoule) and PLN 458.29 in December 2024 (PLN 20.79 per gigajoule).

Compared to March 2024, the value of this index was 25.9 percent lower. The average value of the coal price index for the energy sector in the entire first quarter of this year was PLN 361.66 per tonne (PLN 16.66 per gigajoule). Compared to the first quarter of 2024, this index decreased by 26.4 percent, and compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, it decreased by 22.2 percent.

The coal index for heating reached PLN 494.31 per tonne (PLN 20.73 per gigajoule) in March this year, compared to PLN 467.53 in February (PLN 19.67 per gigajoule), PLN 494.06 in January (PLN 21.01 per gigajoule), PLN 545.54 in December 2024 (PLN 23.18 per gigajoule) and PLN 511.29 in November (PLN 21.53 per gigajoule). Compared to March 2024, the value of the index for heating was 20.1 percent lower.

The average value of the coal price index for heating in the entire first quarter of 2025 was PLN 486.25 per tonne (PLN 20.51 per gigajoule). Compared to the first quarter of 2024, this index is lower by 20.3%, and by the fourth quarter of 2024, lower by 9.4%.

March 2025 was another month of stabilization of coal prices on the international market . In ARA ports (Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam) they were 5.1% higher than a year earlier.

Converted to ARA port conditions, the value of Polish indices in March this year was $107.26 per ton of coal for the power industry and $134.33 per ton of coal for heating. The Polish Steam Coal Market Indices are a group of price indices of benchmark steam coal, produced by domestic producers and sold on the domestic power market and the domestic heat market. The Agency calculates them together with the Polish Power Exchange. The PSCMI1 index (Polish Steam Coal Market Index) expresses coal prices for the so-called professional and industrial power industry (for electricity production), while the PSCMI2 index - for industrial and municipal heating plants (for heat production).

The indices are based on monthly ex-post data and express the selling price of hard coal in a quality adjusted to the needs of recipients. The value expressed in the indices is the net price of coal "on the wagon" at the loading point - without taking into account excise tax, insurance costs and delivery.

Prices for seaborne thermal coal fell on Asian markets

It should be emphasized here that the prices of thermal coal transported by sea have fallen to the lowest level in four years on Asian markets. The largest importers of the raw material, namely China, India and Japan, are buying smaller quantities of fuel for power plants. The prices of thermal coal supplied by the largest exporters - Indonesia and Australia - have been in a downward trend since October 2024.