The selection of appropriate financial sources by enterprises is one of the key tasks faced by the management board. In the presented article, the Authors decided to verify the capital structure of companies from selected European economies and to compare this capital structure between developed and advanced developing markets. The research was conducted on 18 European economies, taking into consideration data for 2017 and five variables defining the structure of financing. The results of the analysis show that the economies in the basket of developed countries are characterised by a higher level of indebtedness, with the major difference in taking on interest-bearing liabilities.

The choice of financing sources made by coal mining companies reflects a number of macro- and microeconomic factors. The paper attempts to present only those that play the most important role in mining companies’ market activities. The structure of sources of financing mining companies’ operations is presented by computing the share of equity in liabilities and shareholders’ equity, the golden balance sheet rule showing the degree of financing of non-current assets through shareholders’ equity and the silver balance sheet rule which shows the ratio of long-term capital to non-current assets. Only a few mining companies can satisfy those two rules as they finance their economic activity through equity and short-term liabilities. Mining companies are not indebted. Their caution in incurring long- -term debt results from the implementation of high volatility of financial results, which are prone to the effects of the economic situation. The basic determinants of the choice of financing sources include the structure of assets, the rate of return on assets and companies’ ability to service debt. The high capital intensity of the mining sector is reflected in the large share of non-current assets in total assets, which in some mining companies exceeds 80% of total assets. The rates of return on assets vary widely and are influenced by fluctuations in coal prices at different phases of the market situation. They also have a significant impact on companies’ ability to service debt. Empirical research conducted by the author revealed that the structure of financing sources in Polish coal mining companies is like that of global mining corporations, as are the economic relations shaping this structure.