Representatives of mining authorities from European countries met in Estonia

From 30 September to 1 October 2025, the 29th Meeting of Heads of Mining Authorities of European Countries was held in Tallinn. The Polish State Mining Authority was represented by the president, Piotr Litwa, and Małgorzata Waksmańska, director of the Department of Law, who gave a presentation on new technologies in Polish mining.

During the conference, representatives of mining authorities from nine European countries discussed the administrative and legal challenges associated with technological progress in the mining sector. Moreover, the meeting participants exchanged experiences on implementing the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) on reducing methane emissions in the energy sector. A side event of the meeting was a visit to the Ojamaa underground oil shale mine.

As in previous years, the meeting ended with the signing of a memorandum in which delegates highlighted the significant progress made in recent years in mining techniques, aerial photogrammetry, systems of production process monitoring, rock mass testing methods and mine support systems. The need to develop new technical standards and legal requirements and improve competencies was highlighted in this context. In addition, it was agreed that the next 30th Meeting of the Heads of Mining Authorities of European Countries in 2026 will be organised by the British Health and Safety Executive. The main topics of next year's meeting will be zero-emission economy, energy storage and the extraction of strategic and critical minerals.

The meetings of mining authorities’ representatives are part of a broad network of administrative cooperation between mining supervision institutions in EU countries and countries participating in pre-accession processes. They are organised regularly, once a year, and their primary purpose is to exchange experiences in mining supervision and the mining industry.