The Polish Geological Institute - National Research Institute (PIG-PIB) stipulates that the data on documented mineral deposits contained in the MIDAS database (which is available at MIDAS), including spatial data made available, among others, within the framework of the Spatial Information Infrastructure, are currently of an illustrative nature, and the location of objects is approximate. Subject to restrictions under applicable laws, PGI-PIB is not responsible for legal consequences arising from the use of materials and datasets made available in the MIDAS database. For legal, administrative or official actions, the provisions of legally binding documents (i.e. geological documentation of mineral deposits, concession decisions for extracting a mineral from a deposit) should be used directly, and in case of ambiguity, the competent authority should be contacted directly.
PIG-PIB, which performs the function of the state geological service (PSG), prepares the national balance of mineral deposit resources - pursuant to Article 162 (1) para. 5 of the Act of June 9, 2011. Geological and Mining Law (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1290, i.e.). The statements included in the balance sheet and all calculations necessary for them are made on the basis of data from the System of Management and Protection of Mineral Resources of Poland - MIDAS.
The source of data, included in the MIDAS database, in the section - Mineral deposits, are geological documentations of mineral deposits, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Geological and Mining Law. Geological administration bodies that approve geological documentation by decision (Art. 93(2) pgg) are required to send copies of decisions, concerning geological documentation, attaching 1 copy of the geological documentation to the other locally competent geological administration bodies. The minister responsible for the environment for each geological documentation referred to in Article 88(2)(1)-(3) is the locally competent geological administration authority. Accordingly, each of the aforementioned geological documentation must be sent to the State Geological Survey, which maintains a central geological archive (Art. 94 (1) (4) and (3) pgg). In the case of collected and processed data on the movement of resources and the volume of extraction, the source of information is the forms sent by the users of the deposits, completed in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of November 15, 2011, on the record sheet and templates of information on changes in the resources of a mineral deposit (i.e., Journal of Laws 2021, item 998).
The source of data for the boundaries of mineral deposits, presented, among others, in the map part of the MIDAS database, are geological documentation of mineral deposits, and in the case of the impossibility of obtaining the contour from the documentation, documents sent to the Register of Mining Areas and Closed Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage Sites.
The Register of Mining Areas and Closed Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage Sites (ROG), which is part of the MIDAS database - is a detailed record of all mining areas in Poland and is maintained on the basis of the provisions of the Geological and Mining Law. Pursuant to Article 152a (4) of the Act, the concession authority shall submit to the Register of Mining Areas documents that will form the basis for ex officio entry of the mining area into the Register. Pursuant to § 5 (1) of the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment of October 16, 2014 on the Register of Mining Areas and Closed Underground Carbon Dioxide Storage Sites (Journal of Laws 2014, item 1469), the transfer of documents by the competent concession body should take place within 14 days from the date on which the decision designating the mining area became final. The concession authority is also required to notify the registrar of any change in the data to be entered in the register book.
The timeliness of the data entered in the MIDAS database thus depends, to a fundamental degree, on the implementation of the statutory obligation by the relevant geological administration bodies and entrepreneurs. Not all of the geological documentation created, documents on mining areas and sites, as well as statements of changes in the deposits' resources are transferred to PIG-PIB, and irregularities in the timing of implementation of this obligation are also found. In view of the above, the data contained in MIDAS may be incomplete and may not reflect the full state of documentation and licensing of mineral deposits in Poland. PIG-PIB is not responsible for shortcomings resulting from failure to fulfill the above obligations and for erroneously prepared geological documentation of mineral deposits and documents sent to ROG (including inconsistencies between different parts of these documents and resulting irregularities). In addition, due to changes in legislation, including the Geological and Mining Law, and the evolution of the rules for maintaining the MIDAS database (which has existed since 1987), the database resource may be heterogeneous, and information may need to be supplemented.
PIG-PIB is making every effort to ensure the high quality of information presented in MIDAS. On an ongoing basis, work is carried out to verify and harmonize data in the database, including the acquisition of missing geological documentation for the resources of the Central Geological Archives.
If you have any doubts about the quality/accuracy of the data obtained from the database, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
The information made available in the System of Management and Protection of Mineral Resources of Poland - MIDAS, at midasinfo.pgi.gov.pl/midas-web constitutes public sector information. The rules for reuse of public sector information held by PGI-PIB are defined at: https://www.pgi.gov.pl/rejestry-i-bazy-danych-geologicznych/zasady-korzystania-z-isp.html
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