Abstract
In Poland, one of the industries that has to take action to increase innovation is mining, as it is still a strategic branch of the Polish industry. The analysis of the structure of expenditure on mining innovation shows that there are innovations in the product sphere and solutions related to mechanical coal mining, while the sphere of widely understood management is omitted and expenditure on this field is negligible. Bearing in mind, among other things, the above challenges facing the Polish economy in the near future and in particular Polish coal industry, the author of the article attempted to analyse the most important challenges facing the mining industry in Poland. This article will attempt to answer the question in which direction innovative measures should be taken in Polish hard coal mining industry to allow for the development of this industry.