Active ventilation shaft of the ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice copper-silver mine, operating within KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.
Szyb P-V is a ventilation shaft forming part of the ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine complex operated by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. in Lower Silesia, Poland. Located in the Polkowice area, it belongs to the shaft infrastructure originally constructed for the Kopalnia Polkowice, whose development began in 1962 and which entered production in 1968. The shaft serves the Polkowice mining area, where the ore deposit consists of polymetallic copper-silver mineralisation hosted within Zechstein copper-bearing shales.
In 1996, the Polkowice mine was merged with the neighbouring Sieroszowice mine to form the unified ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice, and P-V has continued in service as part of that combined operation. Maintenance and hoist-compartment works have been carried out at the shaft. The mine operates by room-and-pillar methods with roof deflection, extracting copper and silver ore from the Polkowice mining area.
The copper ore deposit in the Polkowice area of Lower Silesia was identified as part of the broader Lubin-Głogów Copper District, whose exploration and delineation accelerated following the discovery of copper-bearing deposits in the region in 1957. Construction of the Kopalnia Polkowice began in 1962. The development of the mine posed significant engineering challenges from the outset: water-saturated layers of sands and gravels above the ore horizon required the application of ground-freezing techniques during shaft sinking, a method that became standard across the KGHM system.
Horizontal development work in the Polkowice Główne sector commenced in December 1966, followed by the Polkowice Wschodnie sector in July and the Polkowice Zachodnie sector in November 1967. The mine was ceremonially handed over for initial exploitation on 19 July 1968, and the first construction phase was completed on 31 December 1968, at which point the mine had achieved 25 per cent of its design production capacity. Szyb P-V is part of the shaft network serving the Polkowice area, which includes ventilation and access infrastructure distributed across the Polkowice mining zone.
The ore extracted at the Polkowice area is polymetallic, containing copper and silver in Zechstein copper shale, with a silver content of approximately 46 g per tonne of ore in this sector. The mine reached a production capacity of 4.5 million tonnes per year within four years of opening, increasing to 7.5 million tonnes the following year. In 1972, the decision was taken to construct the adjoining Sieroszowice mine, which opened in 1980.
The two operations shared ore-processing facilities and were formally merged on 1 January 1996 to form the Zakłady Górnicze Polkowice-Sieroszowice. Under this combined structure, P-V continued in service as part of the unified mine's shaft network. Maintenance and hoist-compartment refurbishment works have been carried out at the shaft as part of ongoing operational upkeep.
ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice currently operates ten shafts, extracting approximately 12 million tonnes of polymetallic ore per year, yielding around 201,000 tonnes of copper and 390 tonnes of silver annually as of 2015 data. Exploitation is conducted using room-and-pillar methods with roof deflection and partial goaf backfilling with rock.