This paper presents the possibilities of adapting active mines to generate green energy after their closure using their resources and/or infrastructure. For this purpose, firstly, the temporal horizon of selected mines in Poland was determined, its basic assumption being the analysis of the current state. In the research, 18 mining plants operating within 12 mines in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB) were analyzed. The analyzed mines belong to three of the five largest hard coal producers in Poland, and the main object of exploitation is hard coal of energy types. Severe restrictions or even abandonment of further investments in the development of the coal mining industry were taken into consideration (regarding the construction of new shafts or the development of new exploitation levels). When determining the temporal horizon, the challenges that hamper the exploitation based at the levels of natural hazards and depth of exploitation in each mine were considered. Secondly, the criteria for the adaptation of active mines to generate energy are presented. The possibility of using the resources and infrastructural potential of active mines to produce geothermal energy from water, extracting coalbed methane (CBM), and processes of underground coal gasification (UCG) are analyzed. Finally, for a selected example—generating energy from underground coal gasification in Polish mine conditions—a structural analysis of the criteria was performed using the MICMAC method, as the Central Mining Institute has an extensive experience in the development of underground coal gasification trials in coal mines. Based on expert analysis and using structural analysis, the criteria important for UCG were selected. As demonstrated in the article, the MICMAC method can be applied in other scenarios with different criteria to implement new technologies in coal mines.

The article presents the impact of lignite mining on the environment associated with the introduction of hydro borehole mining (HBM) technology. The results are partially based on the HydroCoal Plus project results, where an environmental assessment of lignite HBM technology was performed. In order to reach the goals of the task, a life cycle assessment (LCA) study was used to assess selected environmental aspects of the HBM single-borehole lignite production process covering selected environmental impact categories such as energy consumption, fuel consumption, water consumption and carbon footprint. The LCA procedure was adapted in an innovative way, constituting another added value to the shown research. The second part of this paper describes opportunities identified by the authors to minimize the environmental impact of lignite production by implementing the HBM method compared to the conventional opencast method.

Mining companies are responsible for the impacts that result from their mining activities even after the mining period has ended. At the same time, at the European and international levels, there is a lack of a detailed operational methodology comprising environmental risks during and after closure of underground coal mines. The environmental risk aspects that need to be considered when planning the closure of an underground coal mine and post closure in the broader environmental context are the following: modification of water flow scheme, surface instability, mine gas emission on the surface, and water and soil pollution. In this study, we focus on assessing groundwater risk in the context of an underground coal mine closure and evaluating the selected risk mitigation strategies in terms of performance and cost. The results from this study could be used for developing a final closure groundwater assessment plan by selecting the most feasible treatment alternatives for different environmental impacts, together with the transitional monitoring that could guarantee a hazard level in compliance with land reuse and the use of natural resources. Finally, the cost-efficient monitoring and treatment programs are used to estimate the financial provisions needed to mitigate groundwater risks during underground coal mine closure contexts.

The article presents the methodology for assessing the longevity of hard coal mines. Based on international experts' assessments, important criteria for determining mine viability have been presented. The results refer to Polish coal mines in the area of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, however, the methodology itself can be applied to other geological and mining conditions of mines elsewhere.The results of structural analyses carried out using the MICMAC method for factors related to the mining geo-environment that may determine the longevity of individual hard coal mines are presented. The analyses were based on the results of expert surveys carried out using the Delphi method. The experts participating in the survey came from various countries and had extensive experience related to work or cooperation with hard coal mining. The criterion factors examined were assigned to two systems (groups) for which structural analysis was performed. The first group includes factors related to the level of exploitation hampering, while the second group includes factors related to hard coal quality and the availability of resources. As a result of the analyses the following were determined: the key factors which have the most significant influence on the system, result and goal factors, factors affecting the system and autonomous factors which have little effect on the system.The obtained results allowed to determine which factors should be taken into account in the process of determining the longevity of a hard coal mine.