Keywords
cleats
crevasse splays
palaeochannels
palaeosols
Neogene
How to Cite
Abstract
The 80th anniversary (1945–2025) of the Konin Lignite Mine (KLM) invites some summaries of the mine’s characteristics. Therefore, the current study is devoted to rocks/sediments and tectonic or sedimentary structures that were observed and examined in lignite opencasts in the vicinity of the town of Konin. Some of them can be considered wonders and/ or curiosities of nature, some are unique, and others are quite common. Hence, they were generally defined as geological peculiarities in this article. In stratigraphic order they are sandstones, cleats, crevasse splays, palaeochannels and palaeosols. They represent various lithostratigraphic units (formations and members) of the Neogene of central Poland, while their age ranges from the Early Miocene to the earliest Pliocene. Among the listed objects, quartzite sandstones (situated below and between the lignite beds) and palaeosols in the Poznań Clays are very common, known from other lignite opencasts in Poland. In the case of cleats and crevasse splays occurring within the lignite seam exploited by the KLM, they are among the most numerous and best developed of all lignite-bearing formations in the world. On the other hand, the presence of palaeochannels in fine-grained sediments, constituting the overburden of the exploited lignite seam, provides additional and convincing evidence for the fluvial origin of the Poznań Clays.
References
Areń B., 1964. Atlas geologiczny Polski. Zagadnienia stratygraficzno-facjalne. Trzeciorzęd, 11/a [Geological atlas of Poland: stratigraphic and facies problems. Tertiary, 11/a]. Wydawnictwa Geologiczne, Warszawa.
Boggs S., 2012. Principles of Sedimentation and Stratigraphy. New Jersey, Prentice Hall, 218 pp.
Ciuk E., 1994. Z dziejów rozwoju poszukiwań, badań i górnictwa węgla brunatnego na ziemiach polskich [From the history of the development of lignite exploration, research and mining in Poland]. Węgiel Brunatny 9, 33–37.
Chomiak L., 2020. Crevasse splays within a lignite seam at the Tomisławice opencast mine near Konin, central Poland: architecture, sedimentology and depositional model. Geologos 26, 25–37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2020-0002
Chomiak L., Maciaszek P., Wachocki R., Widera M. & Zieliński T., 2019. Seismically-induced soft-sediment deformation in crevasse-splay microdelta deposits (Middle Miocene, central Poland). Geological Quarterly 63, 162–177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1477
Chomiak L., Dziamara M., Klęsk J., Wachocki R. & Widera M., 2024. „Rój” mioceńskich stożków krewasowych w Konińskim Zagłębiu Węgla Brunatnego, Polska środkowa – stan wiedzy [A“swarm” of Miocene crevasse splays in the Konin Lignite Basin, central Poland – state of knowledge]. Przegląd Geologiczny 72, 215–224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/2024.9
Dadlez R., Marek S. & Pokorski J. (Eds), 2000. Mapa geologiczna Polski bez utworów kenozoiku, 1:1000000 [Geological map of Poland without Cenozoic deposits, scale 1:1000000]. Polish Geological Institute, Warsaw (in Polish).
Duczmal-Czernikiewicz A., 2013. Evidence of soils and palaeosols in the Poznań Formation (Neogene, Polish Lowlands). Geological Quarterly 57, 189–204. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1082
Dyjor S., 1970. Seria poznańska w Polsce zachodniej [The Poznań series in West Poland]. Kwartalnik Geologiczny 14, 819–835.
Dziamara M., Glacová V., Klęsk J., Marschalko M., Wachocki R. & Widera M., 2022. Wpływ przerostów piaszczystych w węglu brunatnym na działalność górniczą – przykład ze złoża ,,Pątnów IV” (okolice Konina) w środkowej Polsce [The impact of sandy interbeddings in lignite on mining activities – an example from the “Pątnów IV” deposit (Konin vicinity) in central Poland]. Przegląd Geologiczny 70, 376–383. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/2022.11
Dziamara M., Kaczmarek P., Klęsk J., Wachock, R. & Widera M., 2023. Facies and statistical analyses of a crevasse-splay complex at the Tomisławice opencast lignite mine in central Poland. Geologos 29, 173–181. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/logos.2023.29.3.17
Frydrychowicz D., Galantkiewicz E., Kasztelewicz Z. & Widera M., 2024. 80 lat Kopalni Węgla Brunatnego Konin. Część I – historia rozpoznania złóż i ich eksploatacja [80 years of the Konin Lignite Mine. Part I – a history of deposits’ exploration and mining]. Przegląd Geologiczny 72, 532–545. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/2024.34
Gibling M.R., 2006. Width and thickness of channel bodies and valley fills in the geological record: a literature compilation and classification. Journal of Sedimentary Research 76, 731–770. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2006.060
Górniak K., Bahranowski K., Ratajczak T. & Szydłak T., 1996. Regeneracja ziarn kwarcu w piaszczystych glebach korzeniowych w złożu węgla brunatnego Lubstów k. Konina [Formation of quartz overgrowth in arenaceous seatearths from the Lubstow brown-coal deposit (central Poland)]. Przegląd Geologiczny 44, 626–630.
Hooker J.N., Laubach S.E. & Marrett R., 2013. Fracture-aperture size-frequency, spatial distribution, and growth processes in strata-bounded and non-strata-bounded fractures, Cambrian Mesón Group, NW Argentina. Journal of Structural Geology 54, 54–71. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsg.2013.06.011
Hycnar E., Ratajczak T. & Uberman R., 2022. Studium litologiczno-surowcowe skał trudnourabialnych ze złoża węgla brunatnego Bełchatów [A lithological and raw material study of difficult-to-process rocks from the Bełchatów lignite deposit]. Wydawnictwo IGSMiE PAN, Kraków, 85 pp. (in Polish).
Kasztelewicz Z., Frydrychowicz D., Galantkiewicz E. & Widera M., 2025. The past, present and future of the Konin Lignite Mine in central Poland. Geologos 31, xx–xx.
Kędzior A., Widera M. & Zieliński T., 2021. Ancient and modern anastomosing rivers: insights from sedimentological and geomorphological case studies of the Triassic, Neogene and Holocene of Poland. Geological Quarterly 65, 54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1623
Klęsk J., 2023. Siarka i jej główne minerały w iłach poznańskich (górny neogen) oraz ich wpływ na barwę osadu [Sulphur and its main minerals in the Poznań Clays (upper Neogene) – their influence on the sediment colour]. Przegląd Geologiczny 71, 249–254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/2023.22
Klęsk J., Błachowski A., Diduszko R., Kruszewski Ł. & Widera M., 2022. Iron-bearing phases affecting the colour of upper Neogene clayey sediments from Dymaczewo Stare, west-central Poland. Geologos 28, 129–139. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2022-0010
Klęsk J., Błachowski A., Kruszewski Ł., Michalska D., Mrozek-Wysocka M. & Widera M., 2023. Colours of the upper Neogene “Poznań Clays” in the light of sedimentological, mineralogical and nuclear methods. Geological Quarterly 67, 49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1719
Klęsk J., Błachowski A., Kruszewski Ł., Kubiak M. & Widera M., 2024. Main colouring minerals in the ‘Poznań Clays’: Case studies from the upper Neogene in the Polish Lowlands. Inżynieria Mineralna – Journal of the Polish Mineral Engineering Society 53, 145–152.
Kowalczykiewicz Z., 1995. Zaczęło się w Brzeźnie [It started in Brzeźno]. Wydawnictwo KWB Konin, Konin, 138 pp. (in Polish).
Laubach S.E, Marrett R.A., Olson J.E. & Scott A.R., 1998. Characteristics and origins of coal cleat: a review. International Journal of Coal Geology 35, 175–207. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-5162(97)00012-8
Maciaszek P., Chomiak L., Wachocki R. & Widera M., 2019. The interpretive significance of ripple-derived sedimentary structures within the late Neogene fluvial succession, central Poland. Geologos 25, 1–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2019-0001
Maciaszek P., Chomiak L., Urbański P. & Widera M., 2020. New insights into the genesis of the ‘Poznań Clays’ – upper Neogene of Poland. Civil and Environmental Engineering Reports 30, 18–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ceer-2020-0002
Martin A.J., 2000. Flaser and wavy bedding in ephemeral streams: a modern and an ancient example. Sedimentary Geology 136, 1–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(00)00085-3
McCulloch C.M., Lambert S.W. & White J.R., 1976. Determining cleat orientations of deeper coalbeds from overlying coals. U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Investigations, 8116, 24 pp.
Miall A.D., 2006. The Geology of Fluvial Deposits. 4th ed. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 582 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03237-4
Piwocki M. & Ziembińska-Tworzydło M., 1997. Neogene of the Polish Lowlands – lithostratigraphy and pollen-spore zones. Geological Quarterly 41, 21–40.
Piwocki M., Badura J. & Przybylski B., 2004. Neogen. [In:] Peryt T.M & Piwocki M. (Eds): Budowa geologiczna Polski, t. 1, Stratygrafia część 3a, Kenozoik – paleogen, neogen (in Polish): 71–133. Polish Geological Institute, Warszawa.
Pożaryski W., 1952. Podłoże mezozoiczne Kujaw [Mesozoic basement of the Kuiavia]. Biuletyn Państwowego Instytutu Geologicznego 55, 26–31.
Ratajczak T., Słomka T., Wagner M., Hycnar E., Mucha J. &Wasilewska-Błaszczyk M., 2022. Kopać albo nie kopać? węgiel brunatny ze złoża ”Bełchatów” (Pole ”Szczerców”): charakter litologiczno-petrograficzny i geochemiczny oraz jakość technologiczna [To dig or not to dig? the lignite from the ”Bełchatów” deposit (”Szczerców” field) lithological and petrographic character and geochemical technological quality]. Wydawnictwa AGH, Kraków, 206 pp. (in Polish).
Skoczylas J., 1994. Użytkowanie surowców skalnych w początkach państwa polskiego w Wielkopolsce [The use of rock raw materials in the early Polish state in Wielkopolska]. Polskie Towarzystwo Geologiczne, Instytut Geologii UAM, Poznań, 63–74.
Wachocki R., Dziamara M., Klęsk J. & Widera M., 2024. Comparison of the geology presented in a cross-section and that observed in the field – a lesson from the Tomisławice lignite opencast mine, Konin Basin in central Poland. Inżynieria Mineralna – Journal of the Polish Mineral Engineering Society 53, 417–425.
Widera M., 1998. Ewolucja paleomorfologiczna i paleotektoniczna elewacji konińskiej [Palaeomorphological and palaeotectonical evolution of the Konin Elevation]. Geologos 3, 55–103.
Widera M., 2007. Litostratygrafia i paleotektonika kenozoiku podplejstoceńskiego Wielkopolski [Lithostratigraphy and Palaeotectonics of the Sub-Pleistocene Cenozoic of Wielkopolska]. Adam Mickiewicz University Press, Poznań, 224 pp. (in Polish with English summary).
Widera M., 2012. Fluwialna geneza ogniwa wielkopolskiego na podstawie danych z obszaru środkowej Polski [Fluvial origin of the Wielkopolska Member based on data from central Poland]. Górnictwo Odkrywkowe 53, 109–118.
Widera M., 2013. Sand- and mud-filled fluvial palaeochannels in the Wielkopolska Member of the Neogene Poznań Formation, central Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 83, 19–28.
Widera M., 2014a. What are cleats? Preliminary studies from the Konin lignite mine, Miocene of central Poland. Geologos 20, 3–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2014-0001
Widera M., 2014b. Lignite cleat studies from the first Middle-Polish (first Lusatian) lignite seam in central Poland. International Journal of Coal Geology 131, 227–238. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2014.06.017
Widera M., 2016a.Genetic classification of Polish lignite deposits: A review. International Journal of Coal Geology 158, 107–118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2016.03.004
Widera M., 2016b. Depositional environments of overbank sedimentation in the lignite-bearing Grey Clays Member: New evidence from Middle Miocene deposits of central Poland. Sedimentary Geology 335, 150–165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2016.02.013
Widera M., 2017. Sedimentary breccia formed atop a Miocene crevasse-splay succession in central Poland. Sedimentary Geology 360, 96–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.09.006
Widera M., 2020. Slump folds within mid-Miocene crevasse-splay deposits: a unique example from the Tomisławice lignite opencast mine in central Poland. Geological Quarterly 64, 711–722. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1545
Widera M., 2021. Geologia polskich złóż węgla brunatnego [Geology of Polish lignite deposits]. Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, 180 pp. (in Polish).
Widera M., 2022. Zarys geologii okolic Poznania, Turku i Konina [Outline of geology in the vicinity of Poznań, Turek and Konin] . Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, 97 pp. (in Polish).
Widera M., Kowalska E. & Fortuna M., 2017. A Miocene anastomosing river system in the area of Konin Lignite Mine, central Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 87, 157–168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2017.012
Widera M., Chomiak L. & Zieliński T., 2019. Sedimentary facies, processes and paleochannel pattern of an anastomosing river system: an example from the Upper Neogene of Central Poland. Journal of Sedimentary Research 89, 487–507. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2019.28
Widera M., Bechtel A., Chomiak L., Maciaszek P., Słodkowska B., Wachocki R., Worobiec E., Worobiec G. & Zieliński T., 2021a. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Konin Basin (central Poland) during lignite accumulation linked to the Mid-Miocene Climate Optimum. Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Palaeogeography 568, 110307. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110307
Widera M., Zieliński T., Chomiak L., Maciaszek P., Wachocki R., Bechtel A., Słodkowska B., Worobiec E. & Worobiec G., 2021b. Tectonic-climatic interactions during changes of depositional environments in the Carpathian foreland: An example from the Neogene of central Poland. Acta Geologica Polonica 71, 519–542. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24425/agp.2020.134567
Widera M., Dzieduszyńska D. & Petera-Zganiacz J., 2022a. Geological and palaeogeographical peculiarities of the Adamów Graben area, central Poland. Geologos 28, 1–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/logos-2022-0001
Widera M., Glacová V. & Marschalko M., 2022b. Origin of clastic partings and their impact on ash yield in mined lignite: A case study from Middle Miocene of central Poland. Journal of Cleaner Production 378, 134401. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134401
Widera M., Chomiak L. & Wachocki R., 2023. Distinct types of crevasse splays formed in the area of Middle Miocene mires, central Poland: Insights from geological mapping and facies analysis. Sedimentary Geology 443, 106300. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2022.106300
Widera M., Klęsk J. & Urbański P., 2024a. Geology of the deepest Cenozoic lignite-rich grabens in Poland with particular reference to their lithostratigraphy: a comparative study. Geology, Geophysics and Environment 50, 131–143. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7494/geol.2024.50.2.131
Widera M., Dziamara M., Klęsk J. & Wachocki R., 2024b. Four in one: a new crevasse-splay complex in the middle Miocene of central Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 94, 1–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2024.04
Zieliński T., 2014. Sedymentologia. Osady rzek i jezior [Sedimentology. River nad lake deposits]. Adam Mickiewicz University Press, Poznań, 594 pp. (in Polish).
Zieliński T. & Widera M., 2020. Anastomosing-to-meandering transitional river in sedimentary record: A case study from the Neogene of central Poland. Sedimentary Geology 404, 105677. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105677
Żelaźniewicz A., Aleksandrowski P., Buła Z., Karnkowski P.H., Konon A., Ślączka A., Żaba J. & Żytko K., 2011. Regionalizacja tektoniczna Polski [Tectonic division of Poland]. Komitet Nauk Geologicznych PAN, Wrocław, 60 pp. (in Polish).
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wachocki R., Chomiak L., Klęsk J., Maciaszek P., Urbański P., Widera M. & Zieliński T.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.