Rola PIG w rozpoznaniu zasobów mineralnych Polski : dzisiaj i w przyszłości

The role of the Polish Geological Institute (PGI) from the beginning of its activity was to research mineral deposits necessary for the economic development of the country. During the interwar period, iron ore in the Holy Cross Mountains, phosphorites in the Annopol area, and hard coal of the present-day Lublin Coal Basin were discovered, and the presence of gravimetric anomalies in areas of later documented salt deposits was found by geophysical methods. The dynamic development of geological research after World War II led to great discoveries of copper ore, native sulfur, iron, brown coal and many other mineral deposits necessary for the development of the country. After the political and economic changes that took place in 1989, PGI's activities focused on maintaining databases on mineral resources, conducting work related to the identification of prognostic and prospective areas for the occurrence of deposits of mineral raw materials and the protection of deposits. These tasks will also be important in the future, but it is necessary to undertake extensive exploration work on mineral resources necessary for the raw material security of the country also outside of Poland, and to provide expert services in this area for business entities wishing to invest in the industry in the mining and raw materials sector in other countries.