Planning in a mining enterprise is a complex and multifaceted action. For this reason, it is necessary to provide its proper organisation and adjust it to the specific conditions of conducting underground mining extraction. The prepared plans must make up a cohesive internal system, unambiguously determining the manner, range and safety requirements of the conducted extraction. In the most general manner, the various types of plans developed by organisational units of mining enterprises can be divided based on the timeframe, type, scope and object of planning. These are strategic plans, tactical plans and subject-based plans. The aim of the article is to present the issue of production planning in a mining enterprise and for the preparation of such a plan, first and foremost, information about, among other things, applicable legal regulations, market conditions and the specificity of a mining enterprise are necessary. Underground extraction of black coal deposits must be conducted while respecting the rules of sustainable development which satisfies current needs, without compromising the ability to satisfy the needs of future generations. Due to the specific nature of mining production, manifested, among other things, by such features as the diversity of conditions for conducting the activity, resulting from the changing geological-mining conditions of the deposit, low flexibility of the production process, associated with the impossibility to conduct alternative production and a very long-lasting investment process, planning the course and magnitude of production in a mining enterprise must proceed with the highest possible diligence. One should take into account a wide range of presented environmental, organisational and technical conditions, deciding about the safety and correctness of the course of the assumed production activities. However, in order to make them economically feasible and produce satisfying results in that regard, it is also necessary to analyse them carefully with respect to financial outcomes

In Polish mining enterprises, mining exploitation processes are often carried out in much more difficult geological and mining conditions. At the same time, underground operation must be carried out in accordance with the legal requirements concerning work safety and public safety. In these circumstances, taking into account the fact that hard coal mining is by nature a less competitive industry, it should be stated that in Poland managing a mining enterprise is a real challenge. Additionally, in the situation of the functioning of mining enterprises in the conditions of the market economy and constant changes in the economic situation for coal, both on the domestic and foreign markets, the degree of management difficulties, including planning and decision making, is constantly increasing. This is a result of not only the specificity of mining production processes, but also the need to conduct effective economic activity in a constantly and dynamically changing environment. During the implementation of changes in a mining enterprise, the variety of conditions often increases difficulties in the change forecasting system and generates a high risk of implementing adaptive measures. The changes may have a different scope – from gradual, aimed at improving the activities carried out or slowly adapting to changes in the environment, through changes in implemented processes, to radical changes in functioning, often associated with organizational changes.This article aims to present the method of managing a mining enterprise, Poland Grupa Górnicza SA, established during the period of significant changes that took place at that time, both in the company itself and in the hard coal mining industry.

All the restructuring programs that have been implemented in Polish bituminous coal mining as a primary way to reduce mining costs relied on the increased concentration of mining operations. Those efforts especially involved a significant simplification of existing or newly developed structures for accessing or cutting the deposits intended for extraction; implementation of advanced mining technologies, and upgrading of machines used in mine faces. However, in order for these to deliver the expected results, it is important to organize mining operations in such a way so that those advanced, and usually very expensive, mining-related fixed assets – machinery and equipment – are used sensibly. In order to define a reasonable production capacity of each longwall face, it is necessary to apply various criteria related to the mining and technical aspects, occupational safety, and organizational and economic aspects. Only then will it be possible to evaluate the expected effects in the field of concentration of mining in a mining company and in the mines which form part of such enterprises. Decisions in this respect should always be made at the planning stage, based on analysis results. The aim of this article is to explore the factors involved in concentration-related decision-making in mining companies, including the underlying mining/technical, organizational, and economic/ /financial aspects. A mining company is understood as a group of related mines, the primary business operations of which include bituminous coal mining, processing, and trading.