Nowa szansa Starego Zagłębia Miedziowego

Abstract

A new chance for the Old Copper Basin.A b s t r a c t. The paper presents a brief history of the origin and development of the “Konrad” copper mine located in the Grodziec Basin near Bolesławiec. Analysis of the decision on its close down in 1987 is provided. A two-page document stated that the former mine had been “permanently unprofitable”, without relying on the documents and facts in this case. Studies justifying this decision arose only several years later in a completely different economic situation. The mine sinking process was described. It encountered unforeseen problems with the simultaneous close down of a prosperous source of drinking water for the nearby villages. Currently, many professional communities and local governments put foreward proposals for the re-running operation on the deposit. The direct cause of this type of applications is the former foreign failure of the mine’s owner, which previously was Kombinat Górniczo- Hutniczy Miedzi in Lubin and currently KGHM Polska Miedź SA. A justification for this kind of concept is that the copper content in domestic deposits is several times greater than in the deposits purchased in the US, Canada and Chile.