Hat-toss at KGHM for the third time: location of GG-2 ‘Odra’ shaft determined

The third of KGHM's announced new shafts already has a location. The traditional hat toss and the determination of the location of the GG-2 'Odra' shaft ends a key stage in the planning of the Company's most important mining projects of recent years. This symbolic moment paves the way for further preparatory and design work.

‘The construction of three new shafts is of fundamental importance for the future of KGHM, the region and the Polish economy. It will enable access to strategic resources, allowing Poland to strengthen its position in the global raw materials game. The new investments will also improve the working comfort and safety for the staff and guarantee the stable operation of the Company in the coming decades’, said Andrzej Szydło, President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. ‘Work on the Retków and Gaworzyce shafts is proceeding according to schedule. The third hat toss ends a key stage of preparation and confirms that we are implementing the announced projects at a very good pace’, added Andrzej Szydło.

Zbigniew Bryja, Vice President for Development, threw his hat on 19 January, marking the future location of the new GG-2 'Odra' shaft. It will operate as part of the Polkowice-Sieroszowice Mining Facility.

Determining the location of the third shaft allows KGHM to carry out activities in parallel - from geological and documentation work, through the preparation of the facilities, to the successive stages of construction. The company emphasizes that the model adopted allows the maximum acceleration of strategic mining projects. Completion of the first phase of work on the GG-2 ‘Odra’ shaft, i.e. geological and hydrogeological exploration, is planned by 2027. The projects accelerate the modernisation of the mining infrastructure, strengthen the country's raw material security and ensure the stable growth of the Company and the region.

‘We are consistently accelerating the work because we know how crucial these projects are for the future of KGHM and the entire Copper Belt. It is a project which not only safeguards the continuity of mining, but first and foremost creates the foundation for the further development of KGHM’, said Zbigniew Bryja, Vice President of the Management Board for Development at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. ‘We are implementing a very ambitious work schedule. As already reported, the first of the boreholes, designated M1, has been drilled for the Retków shaft, confirming the geological potential for the construction of a shaft in the designated location. In addition, drilling of further geological reconnaissance boreholes is underway, namely borehole S-463A is drilled to a depth of approximately 460 m and borehole S-463B to a depth of 408 m and the work is still ongoing, while borehole M1 is being drilled at the Gaworzyce shaft site. It currently has a depth of approximately 112 m’, added Zbigniew Bryja.

Local strength and experience

The main contractors for the project works are PeBeKa S.A. and Cuprum sp. z o.o., both members of the KGHM Group. Research and Development Centre. Coordination of this stage of performance of the investment project is also the responsibility of the Mining Structure Development Department team at the Head Office of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Important investment projects underway

In June 2025, the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. decided to commence work on the construction of three new shafts: Retków, Gaworzyce and GG-2 'Odra'. Geological and hydrogeological reconnaissance is the first stage in the construction of these key projects for the Company, which will enable the selection of the best sinking technology, as well as the determination of the depth of the frozen rock mass. The Gaworzyce shaft will be an exhaust ventilation shaft, while the Retków and GG-2 ‘Odra’ shafts will ultimately serve a material transport and access function.