28th Meeting of the Heads of Mining Authorities of the European Countries

17 October 2024

The 28th Meeting of the Heads of Mining Authorities of the European Countries took place in Freiberg (Germany, Saxony) from 14 to 16 October. Freiberg is a town with an 800-year tradition of silver mining, famous for its Mining Academy founded in 1765. Delegations from Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom attended the meeting. The Polish mining authorities were represented by the President of the State Mining Authority, Piotr Litwa, and Małgorzata Waksmańska, Director of the Department of Law of the State Mining Authority. The theme of this year's meeting was education, training and recruitment of specialists for mining companies and authorities. The representative of the Polish delegation delivered a paper on mining qualification system in Poland.

Traditionally, the 28th Meeting of the Heads of European Mining Authorities of European Countries ended with the signing of a memorandum. It emphasised the need for further cooperation and the training of young personnel for mining, as well as concern for the professionalism of the staff of the mining offices. At the end of the meeting, there was a visit to the research and teaching mine "Riche Zeche” in Freiberg.

The Estonian administration will organise the next meeting in 2025. Its leading theme will be modern technologies and legislative challenges in mining.