The purpose of the research was mapping, inventorization, and valorization of coal mining waste dumps from the mines of JSW SA company, for the needs of recovery of coal from the dump material as well as the reclamation and management of examined facilities. The valorization of post-mining waste dumps has been carried out using a methodology which considers the problems of reclamation, management, accessibility of the dumps as well as environmental hazards connected with disposing of mining and preparation wastes on the ground surface. An inventorization of 10 coal mining waste dumps coming from 6 mines of JSW SA including in their range 7 deposits: Borynia, Jastrzębie, Zofiówka, Budryk, Knurów, Szczygłowice and Pniówek was carried out. The source material within the localization of particular dumps was obtained from archival materials coming from coal mines and municipalities where the dumps are located. Verified data has been drawn on topographical map, which results in the map of coal mining waste dumps. The results of the valorization of the dumps comprise the defining of: the name of the dump, state of the dump, surface of the dump, accessibility, name of the coal mine from where the wastes come from, type of technical and biological reclamation and possibilities of coal recovery, which have been brought on the drawn map. Basing on collected and elaborated data, an attempt of defining of potential possibilities of recovery of coal from the dumps and connection of coal quality in the deposits of JSW SA and in waste material was made. The results of the research showed that in spite of preliminary information that a majority of the investigated dumps may be considered as potential facilities for coal recovery, ultimately the recovery is economically justified only in several cases (5 facilities).
There was done an inventarization of 41 coal mining dumping grounds, gathering waste material from 27 mines. Considering the fact, that five mines belong to multi-motion plants the research comprised 32 hard coal deposits. Source data with localization of particular dumps have been obtained from archival materials from the mines and municipalities, in the boundaries where the dumps occur as well as free accessible published materials (books, scientific papers). The data have been verified, in the beginning on the basis of topographical maps, orthophotomaps and aerial photographs and then, after vision done during field works they have been drawn on the topographic base, what resulted in creating the map of post-mining dumping grounds. Valorisation of coal mining waste dumps, using already repeatedly presented method, included defining of: name of the dump, coal mine from where the wastes come from, state of the dump, surface of the dump, type of technical and biological reclamation, accessibility of the object, possibilities of recovery of coal and the results have been drawn on the map. On the basis of collected and elaborated data there was done an attempt of defining of potential possibilities of recovery of coal from the dumps and connecting of coal quality in exploited deposits and coal content in waste material. The results showed that in spite of initial information that the majority of the dumps comprise potential objects of coal recovery of coal from waste material, eventually only in some cases (thirteen objects) the recovery seems to be economically justified.