KGHM expands the infrastructure around the deepest mine shaft in Poland

Work is underway at KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. to build the surface infrastructure of the GG-1 shaft. This is the largest mining investment project in the Copper Belt in recent years. The current phase of the work is scheduled for completion in September 2029. Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Kopalń PeBeKa S.A., part of the KGHM Group, is responsible for carrying out the project.

With the environment and local communities in mind

The investment project represents a new standard in mining infrastructure construction in Poland and responds to changing ESG regulations. The project involves, among other things, the installation of photovoltaic systems and the use of waste heat produced in the co-generation process at the Surface Air Conditioning Station adjacent to the yard for heating the newly built facilities during the winter. The investment project also includes a modern waste management system and acoustic safeguards for the site. The aim of the planned solutions is to bring the investment into line with stringent environmental standards.

‘The GG-1 shaft is one of the key investments projects for the future of KGHM and the implementation of the plan to mine the concession deposits at the Rudna and Polkowice-Sieroszowice mines. However, as a conscious and responsible investor and one of the global leaders in non-ferrous metals mining, our focus is not just on business. KGHM pays particular attention to limiting the environmental impact of its operations. This is why we attach such importance to environmentally friendly solutions within the infrastructure of the new shaft. Such an approach will also benefit local communities’, said Andrzej Szydło, President of the Management Board of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Comprehensive solutions

The planned surface infrastructure will not only enable safe crew entries and exits as well as material transport, but will also provide full technical, welfare and logistical facilities for future operational work. It will also increase the air flow into the mine, which will improve the working conditions for the miners. The investment project will involve the construction of, among other things, a shaft building with ventilation ducts, a building for the main extraction and emergency inspection machines, workshops, storage buildings, a pumping station, material storage yards, scales, sheds, car parks, power, water and sewage systems, as well as a two-part administrative and welfare building with a total area of 14,700 m².

‘PeBeKa specialises in complex mining investment projects. In cooperation with the KGHM Group, we are implementing a project which, thanks to the use of modern technologies and proprietary solutions, will serve as a model for this type of investments in the future’, said Jacek Kulicki, President of the Management Board of PeBeKa S.A. ‘Dozens of facilities and networks will be built that must work together when the project is commissioned. Our task as the main contractor is to create technical and welfare facilities that will ensure that the KGHM crew will be able to safely and efficiently use the GG-1 shaft for many decades’, he added.

Work is already underway

As part of the ongoing work, a temporary noise barrier has already been erected, the area for the administration and welfare building has been fenced off and the construction of the dia. 250 mm discharge pipeline for rainwater and industrial water from the shaft site has begun. Earthworks and the demolition of temporary facilities used during shaft sinking will begin in the coming months.

‘Until the hoisting equipment from the shaft sinking period has been decommissioned, we need to complete all the shaft pipe equipment for the target period. The next step will be the reconstruction of the shaft tower and the installation of new hoisting machinery’, concluded Jacek Kulicki.

Once the construction work is completed, the miners will be able to use modern facilities that will improve their daily work, increase the comfort and safety of their entries, while shortening the distance from the shaft to the target workings.