The 9th MINRESCUE project meeting and MINRESCUE symposium were successfully held at GIG (Katowice, Poland) on 15th and 16th June 2023. One highlight of this gathering was a technical visit to Piast-Ziemowit underground coal mine where project participants were officially welcomed and given an introduction to the mine, its history and culture, followed by a trip underground to observe an actual longwall mining in operation. The progress meeting was focussed on those work activities in WP2.3 and WP3.4, residual supplementary testing data and technical and scientific disseminations, and planning for the next progress meeting in January 2024.

In addition, the long-awaited MINRESCUE symposium were attended by well over 50 participants from industry, academia and other stakeholders from across Poland, as well as being broad-casted to a large number of international audiences. The primary objectives and main results of MINRESCUE were delivered succinctly in six presentations, each 20 to 30 minutes, followed by technical discussion. Being a face-to-face event, the symposium was also a chance for interested partners in coal mining sector to share information and discuss potential future plans over breaks and lunch.