Acta Montanistica Slovaca Ročník 19(2014), číslo 2, 70-116 70 Economic situation of hard coal mining industry in Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Ewa Wanda Maruszewska 1 , Michal Vaněk 2 , Šárka Vilamová 2 Abstract: Article aims at investigating the economic situation of hard coal mines localized in Upper Silesian Coal Basin in Central Europe. It is interesting to compare financial situation of four chosen entities that do business in two neighboring countries: the Czech Republic and in Poland. Special focus was paid to legal status of mining companies, scope of their activities, profits gained, employment level, and effectiveness of coal sale. In conclusion authors state that although hard coal mining is important so as to provide uninterrupted supplies of coal for state energy sector, it shall meet a free market requirements regarding economic effectiveness. As two out of four entities encompassed in the study have been privatized and are competitive coal producers, authors suggest using their experience in order to improve unfavorable financial situation of two remaining entities. Nationality distinction of entities seems to be less important than ownership classification of hard coal mining enterprises operating in Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Key words: hard coal mining industry, The Czech Republic, Poland, economic analysis, hard coal mining Introduction For centuries coal production in Central Europe has been considered a strategic energy resource as the countries of the region seek to secure their energy future and independence. The largest mining fields are stationed in Upper Silesian Coal Basin (called also Moravian-Silesian Region) that is located on the boarder of two states: Poland and the Czech Republic. Upper Silesian Coal Basin (USCB, Polish: Górnośląskie Zagłębie Węglowe; Czech: Hornoslezské uhelné pánve) is triangle shaped with concave base. It can be appointed by the city of Frenštát pod Radhošt ěm in Czech, while in Poland by Myślenice and Sucha Beskidzka on the south, and Tarnowskie Góry on the north. This way USCB encompasses Cracow region together with the territory of Upper Silesia and Ostravsko-Karvinsky land in the Czech Republic [17, 22, 27]. The area of USCB is 7490 km 2 . Polish part amounts 5760 km 2 . The territory occupied by productive works is about 5 400 km 2 , of which 4 450 km 2 belongs to Poland. About 300 km 2 of productive area lies on the territory of the Czech Republic, which is approximately 6% of southern part of Upper Silesian Basin [1, 3, 4]. Due to geological conditions mining industry has developed in two neighboring countries. It gave rise to two metropolitan areas: Upper Silesian Industrial District with capital in Katowice (in Poland) and agglomeration around Ostrava (in the Czech Republic). Both agglomerations are important industrial areas since XIX century. Nowadays Poland and the Czech Republic are leading coal producers in the European Union with a combined yearly production of coal reaching half of Australia's coal production. The average sufficiency of the Polish operational reserves deposited in working horizons and horizons under construction, in conditions of the output level planned by Polish coal companies is about 20 years [25]. Czechs also continuously document their coal reserves so as to ensure continuous mining also in the upcoming years. Mineable reserves of Czech as of 31 December 2013 amounted 66 241 thousand tones, while reserves in Poland amount to almost 16,9 billion tones [10]. Tab. 1. Hard coal operational reserves in Upper Silesian Coal Basin [kt]. JSW KHW KW OKD Name Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A. Katowicki Holding Węglowy S.A. Kompania Węglowa S.A. OKD a.s. Country of operation The Republic of Poland The Republic of Poland The Republic of Poland The Czech Republic Hard coal operational reserves [t] 285 838 708 027 1 979 493 228 119 Reserves by the country 2 973 358 228 119 Source: [1, 6, 27, 28, 23, 25] 1 Ewa Wanda Maruszewska, University of Economics in Katowice, ul. 1 Maja 50, 40-287 Katowice, Poland. ewa.maruszewska@ue.katowice.pl 2 Michal Vaněk, Šárka Vilamová, VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Institute of Economics and Control Systems, 17 listopadu 15/2172, 708 33 Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic; michal.vanek@vsb.cz ; sarka.vilamova@vsb.cz .