The State Mining Authority publishes annual report on mining safety

The State Mining Authority has published its latest report, “Assessment of Occupational Safety, Mine Rescue and Public Safety in Relation to Mining and Geological Activities in 2025”. The document is available in the “Health and Safety in Mining” section of the Authority’s website.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of safety conditions across the Polish mining industry and is intended for mining companies, industry professionals, public authorities and all stakeholders involved in mining and geological activities. Published annually, the report presents key information on occupational hazards, accidents, occupational diseases and natural deaths in the mining sector. It also covers the use of former mining sites for tourism, medical and health-resort purposes, as well as preventive and enforcement measures undertaken by mining supervisory authorities.

In accordance with the Geological and Mining Law, the report includes an assessment of the overall state of mining safety, the impact of mining operations on public safety, the effectiveness of hazard identification and prevention measures, and the condition of mine rescue services.

Accident statistics

The report analyses safety trends between 2021 and 2025. During this period, hard coal mining had the greatest influence on overall accident rates, accounting for more than 86% of all mining accidents.

Accident trends in the mining sector as a whole closely mirrored those recorded in hard coal mining, with the total number of accidents increasing between 2021 and 2024 before declining in 2025.

In the copper ore mining sector, the annual number of accidents ranged from 174 to 213, with the lowest figure recorded in 2022 and the highest in 2024.

Particular attention is drawn to fatal and serious accidents. In 2021, the mining industry recorded 22 such incidents. The figure rose sharply to 50 in 2022, largely due to the disasters at the Pniówek and Zofiówka mines. In subsequent years, the number decreased to 23 in 2023 and 19 in 2024, before increasing again to 30 in 2025.

Natural hazards in underground mining

Compared with 2024, underground mining operations in 2025 recorded:

• fewer rock bursts and significantly fewer related injuries (15 rock bursts and 7 accidents, compared with 25 rock bursts and 36 accidents in 2024);
• a slight increase in gas and rock outburst incidents, accompanied by a reduction in the number of injured workers;
• a decrease in the number of underground fires, from 13 to 10, with no injuries reported in either year;
• an increase in methane-related incidents, from one event in 2024 to two in 2025, resulting in 20 accidents.

 The number of accidents caused by roof and sidewall falls also declined significantly, from 220 incidents in 2024 to 149 in 2025.

Occupational diseases

The report highlights the continuing challenge of occupational diseases in the mining sector. Between 2021 and 2025, a total of 2,030 occupational diseases were recorded, with pneumoconiosis accounting for more than 92% of all cases. The highest number of pneumoconiosis cases was reported in 2023. In recent years, an increasing number of asbestos-related pneumoconiosis cases have been diagnosed among former employees of mines in the Lower Silesian Coalfield. In 2025 alone, 101 such cases were recorded, representing more than a quarter of all pneumoconiosis cases identified in the mining sector.

Full report

Detailed information on occupational safety, mining hazards, rescue services and public safety can be found in the full report available on the State Mining Authority’s website: https://www.wug.gov.pl/bhp/stan_bhp_w_gornictwie#tresc