Gibson in £50m deal for Polish mine
GIBSON Group International has snapped up a Polish coal mine for £50 million.
The Glasgowbased firm has bought up the mine, in the CzechowiceDziedzice region of southern Poland, and is also set to invest a further £200m on a cleancoal technology power station nearby.
The mine, one of Poland’s largest, was put up for auction by the stateowned mining company Kompania Weglowa (KW) last year as part of plans to privatise the coal mining industry.
According to Polish news reports, Gibson Group was the only company to make an offer for the mine, which is understood to have been deemed unprofitable by the Polish government.
The deal is subject to formal approval by Poland’s ministry of economy, as well asKW’s supervisory board – but it is expected to be confirmed in June.
It is believed that Gibson’s bid has the support of Polish trade unions.
Tom Gibson, chairman of GGI, said the mine offered a good value investment due to the rising price of coal.
He said: "The mine has reserves of 500m tonnes of topquality coal. Its value has been significantly enhanced as a result of the recent rise in the price of coal, which has now reached $300 (£150) to $400 a tonne. That compares to $25 a tonne five years ago."
The firm is also understood to have selected a Polish management team to take over the daytoday running of the business on site.
Gibson added that he expected annual coal production from the mine to reach 2.5m tonnes – up from the current output level of 0.8m tonnes.
Bert Stockley, managing director of GGI, added: "We have good relations with the unions."
Original source : The Scotsman
