Active ventilation and transport shaft of the Nadrybie field within the operating Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka hard coal mine.
Szyb 1.4 Nadrybie is the principal shaft of the Nadrybie peripheral field of Lubelski Węgiel „Bogdanka" S.A., the only operating hard coal mine in the Lubelskie Zagłębie Węglowe (Lublin Coal Basin) and one of the most productive collieries in Poland. Sinking of the shaft began in 1978 as part of the original development plan for the Bogdanka pilot-extraction mine, which designated two pairs of shafts — main shafts at Bogdanka village and peripheral shafts at Nadrybie. The shaft was commissioned with a temporary winding installation in November 1985, enabling a significant increase in mine output.
It subsequently became the primary shaft of the Nadrybie production field, serving ventilation, personnel transport, and materials handling functions at a depth of nearly 1,000 metres. In the 2020s, ABB was contracted to carry out a major modernisation of the shaft winding machine and signalling infrastructure, extending the operational life of the installation by several further decades. The Nadrybie field remains one of three active production fields operated by LW Bogdanka.
The Lubelski Węgiel „Bogdanka" S.A. colliery traces its origins to pre-war coal prospecting in the Lublin region and a major post-war geological programme. In 1955 an exploratory borehole at Chełm confirmed the presence of Carboniferous strata at depth; in 1965 the first coal samples were extracted from borehole Łęczna IG-1. Following systematic geological documentation led by Józef Porzycki of the Oddział Górnośląski of the Instytut Geologiczny in Sosnowiec, the Council of Ministers resolved in January 1975, by Resolution No. 15/75, to construct a pilot-extraction colliery at Bogdanka. The state enterprise Kopalnie Lubelskiego Zagłębia Węglowego w Budowie was established by order of the Minister of Mining and Energy.
The original development plan for the colliery, which carried the working designation K-1, provided for two pairs of shafts: the main shafts S.1.1 and S.1.2 in Bogdanka village, and the peripheral shafts S.1.3 and S.1.4 in Nadrybie. Sinking of the Nadrybie shafts presented serious geological difficulties. The coal-bearing Carboniferous strata lay below 700 metres depth, overlain by heavily water-bearing Jurassic and Cretaceous formations and, between them, dangerous quicksand-bearing Albian strata carrying pressures of up to 60 atmospheres. These conditions caused repeated damage to shaft collars and required extensive reconstruction works.
Sinking of Szyb 1.4 at Nadrybie commenced in 1978. The shaft was completed and commissioned in November 1985 with a temporary winding installation, permitting mine output to increase to approximately 2,500 tonnes per day. The first production face in the Nadrybie section — face 2N — was started in September 1987. The Nadrybie field subsequently developed as the second of the three principal production fields of LW Bogdanka, alongside Bogdanka and Stefanów.
At a depth of nearly 1,000 metres, Szyb 1.4 serves the Nadrybie field as a combined ventilation, personnel transport, and materials winding shaft. The winding machine, which was manufactured with some components dating from the 1980s, became subject to a comprehensive modernisation programme contracted to ABB. The project, valued at 11.6 million PLN and scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, involves full replacement of the winding machine drive, braking systems, control systems, and shaft signalling and communications infrastructure. LW Bogdanka stated that the modernisation would extend the operational life of the installation by several further decades. The Nadrybie field continues in active production as part of the wider LW Bogdanka enterprise, which holds concessions covering three fields and reported annual output of approximately 9 million tonnes.