Work safety is an important area of business activity, particularly in industries with the most dangerous risks, such as mining, construction and energy. The aim is to reduce the number of accidents and increase employee awareness of occupational hazards and the principles of safe working practices. One of the most important ways to increase employee awareness and consequently reduce accidents is through training. The effectiveness of training is contingent on proper planning, design and preparation. Design thinking directed towards the use of teaching methods and tools is crucial. Properly planned training is part of the sustainability of companies, which consequently results in higher work safety due to its high efficiency. This article reviews the most common training methods in the area of work safety and evaluates them qualitatively and quantitatively using SWOT and multi-criteria analyses. These analyses can provide important guidance in the selection of training methods, regardless of the business sector. Based on the results obtained, effective training methods included those involving students: active training methods with elements of discussion and gamification, augmented and virtual reality, demonstrations and simulations. However, the best training results can be achieved by combining a number of training methods, while maintaining the right balance to achieve the intended training objectives. This is particularly important in businesses with specific activities such as mining, construction or energy.

The article attempts to classify and standardize the terminology used in the literature related to a post-mining land use. The following terms were discussed: restoration, reclamation, rehabilitation, land development and revitalization as well as their explicitness enabling one to understand the essence of a certain process properly. On the basis of the existing methods of post-mining areas development found in the literature on the subject, certain inaccuracies related to the terminology of ways of reclamation and methods of development were shown. This situation enables one to offer a new, developed and flexible classification of ways of reclamation including all the possible forms of post-mining land use. This classification considers methods of reclamation and restoration of utility value to post-mining areas on the basis of 6 general (ngen) and 23 specific ways (nspec), which terminology is unambiguous and leaves no space for doubts as to the interpretation. The essence of the offered classification is a possibility of joining general and specific ways into semantic combinations excluding possible inaccuracies in understanding. A possible form of notation of general and specific ways is as follows: , and, possibly, . This kind of approach enables one to consider each place individually, step out of the box and increase a number of semantic combinations from number n_gen to number n_gen*n_spec. The offered classification may also be successfully used in determining ways of rehabilitation, revitalization or land development.

Virtual reality (VR) is one of the most innovative technologies that allows the development of a computerised, three-dimensional image that imitates reality. With this solution, it is possible to show different objects and even simulate a sequence of actions. The application of virtual reality technology in industries with high accident rates, such as mining and construction, contributes to sustainability by enhancing occupational health and safety (OHS) practices. However, it should be emphasised that the application of VR in these industries is much broader and includes aspects such as visualisation, monitoring and design. This research contributes to sustainability by identifying research gaps, providing an in-depth systematic review of the use of virtual reality technology and outlining the potential of VR technology to advance safety practices in mining and construction, thereby promoting the well-being of workers, reducing accidents and minimising negative environmental impacts associated with workplace incidents. Based on the analyses performed, the future of VR technology for improving work processes in terms of the safety, efficiency and profitability of implementation is outlined. The results of this study provide a comprehensive framework for identifying research gaps in this area to advance research in the academic community and to improve safety in mining and construction workplaces.

The historic post-mining objects deserve special attention due to their high cognitive and didactic value. Conducting the revitalization of such facilities is aimed at preserving the mining cultural heritage, and as a result, it will insert attractiveness to the region. The publication attempts to present an approach to the issues of revitalization of post-mining objects and their analysis in Poland, Spain, and UK. In Poland, there is the Revitalization Act, which comprehensively defines stages and ways of conducting revitalization. Spanish legal regulations do not provide for a separate legal act on revitalization, but they are based on mining Law, environmental law, and cultural heritage law. On the other hand, legal regulations in UK do not provide solutions for the revitalization of post-mining areas. However, land leases could incorporate within them, prior to any industrial or mining activities commencement, a requirement for re-stabilization or returning the land to a safe environmental condition on activity completion. Despite the considerable diversity of legal conditions in the described countries, revitalization measures are conducted with positive results, as illustrated by the Gold Mine in Zloty Stok, La Tortilla Mine in Linares, and revitalization of King Edward Mine, an old mining site in Cornwall.

Natural dimension stone processing generates large volumes of stone waste, which have a significant impact on the environment, as well as on the efficiency and profitability of the stone-processing plant. The article presents the characteristics of waste produced as a result of natural dimension stone processing and the structure of the waste production process. Solid stone scraps and sludge were distinguished. On the basis of the performed analyses, it was shown that stone waste constitutes 10–35% in relation to the quantity of the processed stone material, with the quantity of sludge being even threefold greater than the volume of solid scraps. According to the circular economy principles, the aim should be to reduce the amount of waste generated by reducing primary resources in favour of secondary material. Reducing the volume of stone waste is possible through rational planning of stone production while at the same time maximising the efficiency of stone material usage and introducing the most modern processing machines. This significant volume of stone waste encourages efforts to find solutions for both its management and reduction. This paper reviews the utility potential of stone waste. Sensible use of waste is important to increase the profitability and productivity of processing plants while incentivising environmental protection.

The article analyses the method of testing the abrasion resistance of sandstones on Böhme abrasion test apparatus and describes the problems related to the implementation of this test, as well as the interpretation of the results. The tests were conducted in accordance with the requirements of the EN14157 standard on 14 samples of dry and water-saturated sandstones. The analysis of the results showed that the correlation coefficient for the results obtained in the case of dry samples tests in relation to water saturation was 0.944. It was also observed that the loss of volume during the abrasion process in the individual stages of the test is smaller with the increase of rotation on the disc. In the case of dry samples abrasion, the reason for this is the mixing of abrasive grain and worn stone. In the case of samples tested under conditions of water saturation, the sample is covered with the abrasive grain, which in further phases is liquefied and mixed with the worn stone mass. In this case, however, the abrasion is worse in comparison with the samples tested in the dry condition, because the liquid and mixed abrasive grain with the worn rock mass causes the sample to slide, which in turn results in the abrasion volume loss. The control of the abrasion resistance results obtained from the stone abrasion according to the EN14157 standard should be a comparison with the abrasion resistance results obtained in the process of calculating the abrasion volume loss of sample determined from height.