Sources of risk in the process of mining production planning in a hard coal mine

The aim of this article is to identify and assess the sources of risk in the mining production planning process in terms of quantity and value in a hard coal mine. To implement this goal, the first part of this paper identifies sources of risk, the second part in turn describes preventative actions that the mine should undertake to minimize the risk during the mining production planning. The article makes use of deduction, mining production processes analysis and literature on mining economics. The internal sources of risk include: operational resources adequacy, geological and mining conditions, natural hazards, availability and adequacy of human and material resources, quality of raw material, costs of extraction, sustainable development rules and corporate social responsibility implementation and management effectiveness. The external sources of risk include: availability of energy resources (renewable and non-renewable), energy policy, industry competitiveness, energy resources prices, public promotion rules, cooperation with trade unions, environmental rules, decisiveness of local and regional communities and level of economic and civilizational development. The main conclusion is that, in case of each of the identified mining, economic and social risks in production planning, one must use comprehensive managing approach that covers the identification of risk, risk assessment, selection of instruments limiting the risk or its effects as well as risk control. The listed activities should be repeated and continued as these elements guarantee effectiveness of risk management.