In the January-November period, coal prices were 33.3 percent higher than in the same period of 2007. In result, the revenues of the mines were over PLN 4bn higher while the net income was 0.6bn higher. They kept raising wages. According to GUS central statistical office, wages in mines grew by 18 percent as compared to the end of October 2007. Now the sector faces troubles. Coal prices dropped to USD 70.5 per ton in November, down from USD 150 in October.
“This is not the first time that the mining sector has eaten up its income instead of investing. They will suffer”, Andrzej Barczak from the Katowice Academy of Economics commented.
At the end of October, the mining sector had PLN 6.2bn of debts, including
PLN 4.7bn of short-term debts. Their due money were PLN 600m higher than a year
earlier, which means that not all contractors pay for coal.