Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW), the largest producer of coking coal in the European Union, will increase the production of steam coal of nut type and has already started its sale at the Budryk mine to individual customers.

JSW indicates that the increase in coal production, together with a planned increase in the production of energy pellets, will support individual customers and the commercial power industry. According to company spokesman Tomasz Siemieniec, JSW will produce 400 thousand tonnes more steam coal this year than planned – a total of 2.7 million tonnes.

JSW’s Management Board has decided to start production of nut-size steam coal. The coal, whose supply will reach 180 tonnes per day, has been on sale at the Budryk mine since Tuesday.

The sale is being carried out exclusively for individual customers consuming coal for their own needs, the limit for one buyer is three tonnes and it is valid until the end of 2022. In addition, at the time of purchase, the buyer should have a document confirming that he owns a suitable combustion source at the given address.

According to Siemieniec, JSW has additionally launched the production of energy pellets with a capacity of 400 tonnes per day, and another such installation with similar parameters will be launched in early September this year. They both are expected to produce over 90,000 tonnes of pellets for energy purposes by the end of this year.

The company explains that the granulate in the refining process is produced from fine coal fractions obtained during the production of coking coal; it is used as an admixture to power coals and, similarly to the power coal produced by JSW, it is sent to professional power plants, large heat and power plants having appropriate installations.

“The introduction of additional thermal coal should also reduce the raw material gap for producers of district heating network”, said the spokesman.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński