St. Barbara's Day at the Silesian Museum in Katowice

3 December 2024

National and miners' flags were hoisted on the mast. In the SMA, everyday official suits were replaced with black, festive miners' uniforms.

In keeping with tradition, shortly after 8.00 a.m., the management and employees of the mining offices stood on the steps in front of the SMA building for a commemorative photo.

After the traditional church ceremony, the second part of the miners' supervision celebrations took place in the hospitable premises of the Silesian Museum in Katowice. The guests were personally welcomed by President of the SMA - Piotr Litwa. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the state authorities, army, trade unions, institutions cooperating with the SMA, and delegations from various mining companies (hard coal and lignite, natural gas, oil, copper ore, aggregates, salt, sulphur).

In his opening speech, President Piotr Litwa summarised the work of the mining offices in 2024. He remembered the miners who lost their lives in the mines and commemorated them with a minute's silence. He took the opportunity to emphasise that the key to ensuring accident-free work in the mining industry lies primarily in the determination of employers, which is expressed in a systemic approach to safety, consisting of the continuous improvement of the technical and organisational solutions applied within the interconnected processes. Undoubtedly, an essential part of safety in mining is the system of ascertaining mining qualifications created, administered and improved by the mining supervisory authority. Thanks to the initiative of the State Mining Authority and cooperation with the Ministry of Industry, a new regulation of the Minister of Industry on mining qualifications and mine rescue has been in force since July 2024.

An important element of the activities planned for the near future will be the analysis of mining regulations in cooperation with entrepreneurs of all types of mining. This will help to develop the necessary changes, which will translate directly into work safety and rational mining planning, as well as into the effective decommissioning of the mining plant.

Traditionally, the SMA St. Barbara's Day celebration was also an opportunity to honour employees of the mining supervisory authorities with state and departmental awards. Medals for long service, mining ranks, Badges of Honour for Distinguished Service to Mine Safety and 'Meritorious Service to the Polish Mining Industry' were awarded.

The most spectacular part of the celebration was the Miners' Swords Ceremony. This year, 13 employees of the Mining Authorities received mining swords.