Gold in them thar hill

Poland was the only EU country to escape the present recession and economic crisis. Industrial output jumped by double digits, while employment and wages are up and out pacing inflation. The discovery of natural gas shale fields that equal more than 300 years of the country’s consumption have major oil companies beating a path to Poland’s door. Then there’s a luxury goods market that is growing faster than any other European country and a debt to GDP ratio that is one of the lowest in the world. The Warsaw Stock Exchange had more IPOs (initial stock offers) than any other European exchange in the past 12 months including foreign companies clamoring to be listed. These are all admirable attributes envied by other countries.



What else could Poles ask for in economic terms?


How about hitting a motherload of gold and silver that was just confirmed in dolny Śląsk!


A few million years ago, way before brothers Lech, Cech and Rus came from the east to establish the Slavic nations, the Kaczawskie Mountains located in southwestern Poland were erupting with volcanic ash and lava flows that glowed in the darkness of night. The apocalyptic looking event heaved tons of wealth to and near the surface of the earth’s crust. Today, in the land of extinct volcanoes modern testing methods indicate substantial mineral riches not previously exploited since mining started there in the 12th century are ripe for the picking.


Mining has always been an essential part of the Polish economy and is one of the most time-honored professions in Poland. Through the centuries going deep under the earth was dangerous and often deadly. Although there is no caste system, Poland’s miners traditionally have been elevated to a special social station of their own. Not only for the Feast of St. Barbara (patron Saint of miners), but also for weddings, funerals and other important political or social ceremonies, miners wear an especially smart looking black uniform adorned with red feathers and act much the same as honor guards.


Perhaps the most wondrous and largest mine in the world is in Wieliczka. Salt is a very important mineral, which seemed absent in Poland until the 13th century when Saint Kinga a Hungarian princess on her way to marry King Bolesław threw her engagement ring into a Hungarian salt mine near her home only to have it found where she indicated Polish miners dig upon her arrival. For over 700 years salt had been scooped out of the depths where Kinga’s ring miraculously appeared.


At the Wieliczka works the vast subterranean chambers are adorned with statues, chapels, grand staircases, dining halls and even chandeliers carved entirely of salt. There is even a clinic for people with lung ailments since the salt laden air is antiseptic.


Although another underground city like the Wieliczka mine is not in the making 150 miles to the west, the little village of Radzimowice in the Kaczawskie Mountains just might add a ton of wealth to the Polish economy.


Stara Gora (the Old Mountain) is the name used mainly by geologists for the location, since it was formerly the place where gold, silver, iron and copper once were mined and remolded. Many mine shafts beneath the peak of Zelezniak bear testimony to the heyday of a once blooming town. Lately, the few inhabitants left take their chances and run farm tourism businesses in a region famous for its panoramic views, wine production and rare plants including orchids and gentian.


Last month four high tech borings nearly a half-mile in depth confirmed the presence of high-grade gold, silver and copper veins, which appear to be untouched in the extensions of the historic site. New veins were also discovered and include significant amounts of gold with about one ounce of gold per ton of earth.


The area has a long history of mining covering 1,000 years and anecdotal evidence suggests and that up to 18,000 ounces of gold were recovered from nearby rivers and shallow digs over the years.


Extensive underground shafts were developed in Radzimowice until the mine closed around 1930 due to low metal prices and the onset of the Great Depression. The underground workings were well documented during earlier mining operations and indicate that most of the ore was mined from six veins. During the 1950s some refurbishment of the mine was undertaken by the Communist government but ceased when the Kupfershiefer copper deposit was discovered at a different location.


With private companies free to explore with the profit motive incentives of capitalism, what was overlooked by the previous socialist regime’s central planning seems to be panning out rather nicely in a market where gold and silver have had a huge run up in value.


The energy and precious metal resources just recently discovered under Polish soil is bound to bring increased economic wealth to the nation just as the discovery of salt did 700 years ago. However, there is a sinister plot being hatched by EU environmentalists that might cripple the heavy industry and coal mining sectors of the Polish economy. The what else Poles could ask for question might just be requesting some sanity regarding EU carbon emissions policies. Stay tuned to this column for a look into the absurdia the environmental whackos may thrust upon the only shining economy of the western world.