Active exhaust ventilation shaft of the ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice copper-silver mine, serving the Sieroszowice mining area.
Szyb SW-3 is an exhaust ventilation shaft of the ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine operated by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. in Lower Silesia, Poland. Located in the Sieroszowice mining area, the shaft serves the Kopalnia Sieroszowice sector, which opened in 1980 and was merged with the Kopalnia Polkowice in 1996 to form the unified ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice. SW-3 is listed as one of the three exhaust ventilation shafts assigned to the Polkowice-Sieroszowice section of the KGHM mine ventilation network, alongside szyby P-VII and SG-2.
Its shaft lining is of segmental tubing construction. During operational inspection of exhaust shaft linings across the KGHM system, corrosion of the tubing segment bolt heads was identified in SW-3 and recorded in engineering studies. The shaft forms part of the ten-shaft network currently operating within ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice.
Szyb SW-3 is an exhaust ventilation shaft constructed as part of the Kopalnia Sieroszowice infrastructure in the Lubin-Głogów Copper District of Lower Silesia. The Kopalnia Sieroszowice was built following a development decision in 1972 and opened for exploitation on 1 January 1980. The mine works a polymetallic copper-silver deposit in Zechstein copper-bearing shales, and in the Sieroszowice mining area the deposit contains approximately 65 g of silver per tonne of ore alongside copper.
Rock salt is also present above the ore horizon, and over 300,000 tonnes of salt are extracted annually at the mine. The Sieroszowice mine developed a network of shafts to serve both production and ventilation requirements. SW-3 functions as an exhaust ventilation shaft, drawing used air out of the underground workings.
It is one of three exhaust shafts assigned to the Polkowice-Sieroszowice section of the KGHM ventilation system, the others being szyby P-VII and SG-2. On 1 January 1996, the Kopalnia Sieroszowice was merged with the Kopalnia Polkowice to form the Zakłady Górnicze Polkowice-Sieroszowice, and SW-3 continued in service under the unified operation. The shaft has a segmental tubing lining.
Engineering studies conducted across KGHM's exhaust ventilation shaft network identified corrosion of the bolt heads connecting the tubing segments in SW-3. This condition was recorded alongside similar observations in szyby L-V, P-VII, R-VIII, R-XI and the SW-3 shaft at the combined Polkowice-Sieroszowice mine, and the findings were reported in the proceedings of the 2018 School of Underground Mining (SEP) conference. SW-3 remains an active exhaust ventilation shaft within the ZG Polkowice-Sieroszowice ten-shaft network.