Editorial staff of “Istotne Informacje”: – Was the “Innovative Methods of Using Mineral Resources for Economic Development in the Neisse – Nisa – Nysa Euroregion” conference a success?
Karol Stasik, head of the Bolesławiec Economic Society and chairman of the Bolesławiec County Council: – In my opinion, a great success. Our success: that of BTG and Bautzen County. We wrote the application to the Euroregion ourselves, secured funding, and organized and held the conference. I would like to thank my colleagues, led by Dariusz Kwaśniewski.
We succeeded because we managed to achieve two subregional objectives. First, we answered questions troubling technologists from various ceramic plants in Bolesławiec County. We established the meeting’s agenda with the Bolesławiec Ceramic Brotherhood. That is why the ceramic-industry representatives received what they wanted during the conference.
The second important element was obtaining specific information from representatives of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. about the possibility of returning to copper mining in our region. The conference was attended by the vice president of the Lubin-based industrial complex, Dorota Włoch, director Maciej Koński, and KGHM’s chief geologist, Grzegorz Lipień. We heard from them that the copper and silver deposit surveys carried out near Bolesławiec have so far produced very promising results. All that remains is to carry out several drillings, which are a formality. I say it is only a formality because when I asked whether there was a light at the end of the tunnel, the chief geologist replied that it was not a light but a spotlight.
What does this mean for Bolesławiec and the surrounding area?
New jobs, greater prosperity for society, and increased funding for culture, sports, and education. Someone once said that for every job in a mine, four more are automatically created in related occupations. And this applies not only to the city itself, but also to the municipalities of Bolesławiec, Złotoryja, and Lwówek counties.
The vice president emphasized that in the Bolesławiec region, KGHM is met with goodwill from local-government officials, which is very important to them.
We have been keeping our finger on the pulse for a long time. On many occasions, together with the county governor, Cezary Przybylski, we visited Herbert Wirth, KGHM’s president. We repeatedly asked: what next? In 2004—when I was still deputy mayor of Bolesławiec—I organized a conference here devoted to copper. But at that time, we wondered whether it was worth returning to this issue in our region at all. The price of copper was much lower than it is today. A tonne of this raw material cost approximately $3,000. It was said that if the price rose to $5,000, returning to mining near our city should be considered. There was also talk of drilling near Bolesławiec to determine whether investing here would be worthwhile.
That is now in the past. Those efforts are bearing fruit today. And today I want to dot the i’s and cross the t’s. All the more so because sympathy for miners and copper-industry workers is deeply rooted in our society. Many residents of our county still commute to the mines in Rudna and Lubin. They would probably gladly welcome the news that they could find employment locally. To sum up: construction of a new mine in our county is getting closer and closer!
More about the conference in the article: Discussion about the future: copper and ceramics in Bolesławiec.
Article commissioned by the Polska Miedź Foundation, established in 2003 by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. The Foundation is a public-benefit organization that carries out socially useful activities in the sphere of public tasks, including: social assistance; charitable activities; preserving national traditions; activities for national minorities; health protection and promotion; activities for people with disabilities; science, education, schooling, and upbringing; tourism; culture, art, protection of cultural assets and traditions; promoting physical culture and sports; ecology and animal protection, as well as protection of natural heritage; public order and safety and counteracting social pathologies; rescue services and civil protection; assistance to victims of disasters, natural catastrophes, and armed conflicts; activities supporting European integration and the development of contacts and cooperation between societies; and technical, training, informational, or financial support for non-governmental organizations.