Explorer, Giant, Visionary – KGHM celebrates its 60th anniversary

KGHM is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding as the Kombinat Górniczo-Hutniczy Miedzi, or copper mining and smelting combine, which over time has become a global player in the mining industry. The company is celebrating its anniversary and boldly looks to a future full of challenges and innovative projects.

– The anniversary represents 60 years of hard work by many thousands of people, the employees of KGHM. This is a great generational experience. Jan Wyżykowski took the first step and was followed by other discoverers and visionaries. More divisions were established, we introduced innovations in production, we planned further investments. Now we have more years of hard work ahead of us. It is not easier, but we know that the future is in copper – said Marcin Chludziński, President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

President Marcin Chludziński stresses that KGHM is currently a company with a huge impact on the Polish and global economy. The copper giant, with a vision towards a safe future, cares about production quality and the environment.

Mural for the 60th anniversary of KGHM

To mark the anniversary, a commemorative mural was created on a building of KGHM ZANAM in Legnica. The artistic design is simple in form, but refers to the mining industry in the Copper Belt. The black background is a link to the miner's formal uniform. The second colour is copper, which is a strategic raw material for the company.

– We emphasise our links with mining and look to the future. The mural in part was made with anti-smog paints. The work cleans as much air as 90 trees. It is also a symbol of KGHM's commitment to environmental protection – said Lidia Marcinkowska-Bartkowiak, KGHM's chief communications officer.

Jubilee on video

A film about KGHM has been prepared especially for the celebrations, showing among other things the underground city and the discoverer of deposits in the Copper Belt, Jan Wyżykowski. KGHM's miners, metallurgists, rescuers and many others from the KGHM family will be featured in the programme. There will also be wishes for the crew from the President and the Prime Minister.

KGHM versus celebrities

In turn, on 9 May an episode of Familiada will be broadcast on Polish Television, with the participation of KGHM employees, who will compete against the stars of TVP. The company will be represented by Janusz Węgrzyn from the Lubin mine, Piotr Morawiec, a rescuer from the Emergency Rescue Unit, and Marek Śmietana from Głogów Smelter and Refinery. Our contestants will face Maciej Kurzajewski, Katarzyna Cichopek and Rafał Brzozowski.

Copper explorer and visionary

The jubilee of KGHM is an occasion to emphasize the importance of the Company on the international stage. Thanks to the commitment of its employees, the copper giant uses new technologies, develops new mining solutions and manufactures and creates its own equipment and machinery to operate in the mines and metallurgical plants. The company is also developing projects related to the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in KGHM.

As part of the jubilee, KGHM will launch the "Copper Valley" programme to support the development of innovation in the Company. The company will develop partnerships with startups. It has already been possible to launch a project to prepare a smart helmet for KGHM's employees. The device is intended to enhance employee safety.

Green KGHM

Despite the pandemic, KGHM is pursuing its strategy and has a defined vision for development. The Company has photovoltaic projects and visionary plans related to Renewable Energy Sources. At the end of 2020, 22.42% of KGHM's total energy consumption came from its own sources, including production from the gas and steam units.

The copper mined by KGHM is the basis for many technological innovations, in particular those based on so-called "green energy". Photovoltaic power stations or electric cars, which contain 4 times more copper than combustion engines, are based on this raw material. It is estimated that demand for copper will double in the next 20-30 years.

History of KGHM

There are many important dates in the 60-year history of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., and it is worth recalling a few of them:

- 1 May 1961 – establishment of the Kombinat Górniczo-Hutniczy Miedzi in Lubin

- September 12, 1991 – Conversion into a State Treasury company

- 10 July 1997 – debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange

The Copper Belt owes its development to the ground-breaking discovery of a deposit of copper ore. On 23 March 1957 this was made by Jan Wyżykowski.