The exploration of mineral resources is an area of strategic importance for the pace of further development of all industries. The results of companies deciding to carry out exploration work depend on further investments of mining companies, i.e. the entities purchasing full deposit documentation. Being at the beginning of the entire mining process, junior mines assume a high risk related to investments enabling the commencement of works without providing high guarantees of the project’s success. Companies running these types of projects must seek funding in a variety of ways. One of these is to try to raise capital from the stock trading markets. However, the specificity of junior companies does not allow them to start on the main trading floors, hence the decision to enter alternative markets. In considering the broader context of the activities of junior mines, research was conducted on companies listed on the London Alternative Investment Market (AIM). In the first part, this concerned the market characteristics – the market value added values were determined for selected ranges of market capitalization. In the second part, which is a statistical study, factors that may affect their market value was checked. The analysis covered both traditional value drivers – related to revenues, the demand for net working capital, investment expenses and the cost of equity – and their supplementation with selected values of financial statements. The result of the analysis is a regression equation indicating the factors that have a statistically significant impact on the market value of junior mines listed on AIM London.

The aim of the study was to examine identity statuses in various life domains and the relationship between identity and well-being. We adopted the three-dimensional model of identity (Crocetti et al., 2008), including: in-depth exploration, commitment, and reconsideration of commitment. Moreover, in accordance with domain-specific approach (Goossens, 2001), we sought to empirically derive identity statuses in various life domains. The participants included 835 emerging adults (Mage = 21.81, SD = 2.33). We examined eight domains previously identified in qualitative research: personality characteristics, past experiences, family, friends and acquaintances, worldview, hobbies and interests, aims and plans for the future, and occupation. To measure three identity processes, we used a modified version of the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (Crocetti et al., 2008) and to measure well-being we used the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (Keyes, 2013). Results indicate that, although the statuses identified in previous research were, to a large extent, replicated (except moratorium), people were classified in different statuses in different domains; thus, we conclude that talking about statuses should be limited to a given domain. Well-being was the highest in achievement statuses and the lowest in diffusion, but only in two examined domains: personality characteristics and past experience.

Organisations have to take into account rapid, non-linear changes in their environment that build pressure on the company‘s development strategy. Therefore, one of the key challenges and paradoxes is to how maintain mutual coherence between different areas of the organisation and simultaneously leverage being ambidextrous so as to continue with exploration and exploitation activities. The main goal of this paper is to present research results on the relation between strategic coherence and company ambidexterity.
Strategic coherence is a proprietary concept allowing for measurement of the balance between the vertical and horizontal adjustment of an organisation. Vertical adjustment is the relation between strategy and the elements of the business model measured by: 1) the cascading of goals, 2) feedback on matching elements of the business model according to strategy, and 3) control over financial results and strategy implementation. Horizontal adjustment refers to matching the business model components measured by: 1) creating value, 2) capturing value, and 3) creating a synergy effect) Meanwhile, ambidexterity is determined by four areas: 1) company goals, 2) products, 3) market and 4) competitive advantage for both exploration and exploitation activities. The research survey was conducted with the use of the CATI method. Altogether, 400 medium-sized and large Polish companies were included in the study. To calculate the dependencies, the Pearson correlation coefficient was applied. The companies studied achieved similar results in terms of strategic coherence dimensions, as the vertical adjustment was 6.47, and the horizontal was 6.29 on a scale of 1–10. Meanwhile, in terms of ambidexterity, the companies achieved a moderate level, with the average value for exploration being 4.26, and that for exploitation 4.51 on a scale from 1 to 7. Based on correlation analysis, the relation between both variables has the shape of an inverted “U” with the most favourable point for ambidexterity at the “high strategic coherence” level. This study is a comprehensive guide for practitioners, and presents development guidelines for companies. The value of this research is an empirically validated framework that describes relations based on a dynamic balance between strategic coherence and two types of adjustment in the area of regulation – vertical and horizontal, as well as ambidexterity with two types of activity in the area of operations: exploration and exploitation. This study is unique and explores uncharted areas of strategic management.

In the over 150 years of hydrocarbon history, the year 2017 will be one of the many similar. However, it will be a breakthrough year for liquefied natural gas. In Asia, China grew to become the leader of import growth, becoming the second world importer, overtaking even South Korea and chasing Japan. The Panama Canal for LNG trade and the “Northern Passage” was opened, so that Russian LNG supplies appeared in Europe. The year 2017 was marked by a dramatic shortening of the length of long-term concluded contracts, their shorter tenure and reduction of volumes – that is, it was another period of market commoditization of this energy resource. The article describes the current state of LNG production and trade till 2018. It focuses on natural gas production in the United States, Qatar, Australia, Russia as countries that can produce and supply LNG to the European Union. The issue of prices and the contracts terms in 2017 was analyzed in detail. The authors stress that the market is currently characterized by an oversupply and will last at least until mid–2020. Novatek, Total – Yamal-LNG project leaders have put the condensing facility at 5.5 million tons into operation. The Christophe de Margerie oil tanker was the first commercial unit to cross the route to Norway and then further to the UK without icebreakers and set a new record on the North Sea Road. In 2017, the Russian company increased its share in the European gas market from 33.1 to 34.7%. In 2017, Russia and Norway exported record volumes of „tubular” – classic natural gas to Europe (and Turkey), 194 and 122 billion m3 respectively, which is 15 and 9 billion m3 more natural gas than in 2016. The thesis was put forward that Russia would not easily give up its sphere of influence and would do everything and use various mechanisms, not only on the market, that it would simply be more expensive and economically unprofitable than natural gas. It was also emphasized that the pressure of the technically possible and economically viable redirection to European terminals of methane carriers landed in the American LNG, results in Gazprom not having a choice but to adjust its prices. The Americans, but also any other supplier (Australia?) can simply do the same and this awareness alone is enough for Russian gas to be present in Europe at a good price.

In 2011, the Miedzi Copper Corporation (MCC) initiated its exploration program involving deep Cu-Ag deposits in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline. A very vast study area was adopted, along with the use of a wide range of research instruments. In the years 2011–2013 the exploration of MCC involved 21 concession areas. The location of concessions for exploration as well as exploration and prospecting was based on the known prognostic and hypothetical areas with confirmed contact of the Rote Fäule facies with the reduced facies, placed in the proximity of the Zechstein elevations. In 2012 and 2013, historical boreholes drilled mainly by the petroleum industry were logged, and in cases where the preservation of rock material allowed, samples were collected for chemical analyses. Moreover, a wide range of specialized examinations was performed, involving organic chemistry, coal macerals, vitrinite reflectance and petrography, with a particular emphasis on the Rock Eval method. The latter allows the presence of the so-called strong Rote Fäule associated with the presence of the richest mineralized horizons to be established. It was equally important for the purpose of exploration to perform the reprocessing of geophysical data using the innovative method of effective reflection coefficients. This allows transforming a conventional seismic image into an impulse form of seismic records, meaning a temporal sequence of coefficients, whose sections can be correlated with the logs of historical boreholes in order to trace the course of lithological series. This method provides a much higher accuracy for determining structural elements crucial for exploration than before, suggesting the presence of various tectonic phenomena important for mineralization. As a result, a more detailed mineralization distribution model was obtained and the so-called sweet spots were pinpointed, becoming an object of further drilling exploration. The number of active concessions was reduced to 6, which resulted largely not just from the absence of ore, but also from economic premises. The drilling program initiated in 2013 and still continued today allowed the discovery and preliminary documentation of three copper and silver deposits in the Fore-Sudetic Monocline. These are the Mozów and Sulmierzyce deposits, where the presence of prospective areas was previously recorded, as well as the Nowa Sól deposit, discovered in the so-called green field, where no ore exploration was previously conducted. At the current stage of identification, each of these deposits contains resources exceeding 5 million tons of equivalent copper, and the performed economic analyses indicate the viability of their extraction using the modern methods of shaft sinking, air conditioning and waste management.

Joint Operating Agreements (JOAs) play a pivotal role in facilitating the exploration and development of oil fields across various jurisdictions by allowing multiple parties to collaborate and share resources. However, differing perspectives and priorities among JOA participants can lead to disputes and operational inefficiencies. To ensure smooth operations and prevent potential conflicts, it is crucial that JOAs are precisely drafted and clearly define the scope and limits of joint activities. This paper examines the practical implications of sole-risk and non-consent clauses in JOAs, which aim to regulate unilateral actions by individual parties and maintain the collaborative spirit of the agreement. Sole-risk and non-consent clauses can effectively prevent disputes by specifying the boundaries of joint operations and individual party responsibilities. They ensure that parties do not extend the scope of the JOA to activities that are meant to be conducted independently, thereby preserving the agreement’s original intent. Nevertheless, these clauses must be narrowly defined in order to avoid inadvertently restricting the flexibility and collaboration that are the hallmarks of JOAs. This study analyzes various cases in which sole-risk and non-consent clauses have been implemented and evaluates their effectiveness in preventing disputes and promoting efficient joint operations. The findings reveal that when carefully drafted and unambiguously defined, these clauses can be advantageous in maintaining harmony and cooperation among JOA parties. It is evident that striking a balance between protecting individual interests and fostering collaborative endeavors in oil-field exploration and development is essential for the successful implementation of sole risk and no consent clauses within JOAs.

The article discusses possibilities and usefulness of application of the cost approach for mineral deposits valuation. Author focuses on the ones related to exploration for and documentation of hypothetical deposits, looking in their case for possible areas of application of the approach in consideration. Analyses covers the three most commonly used valuation methods: Appraised Value Method (AVM), Multiple of Exploration Expenditure Method and Killburn's Method, indicating their strengths, deficiencies and dangers of potential misuse. In conclusion author indicates areas of potential application of the cost approach where it's proper application may deliver credible and useful results.

This article questions the consensus view of The Invincible (Niezwyciężony) as one of Lem’s classical sci-fi fictions. The author contends that in this novel the familiar conventions (later rejected in His Master’s Voice) coexist with a structural design characteristic of his late novels. An analysis of two pieces of the world of The Invincible, usually disregarded by the critics because of their sketchiness, i.e. the story of the extinct Lyrans and the account of the ancient biosphere of Regis III, reveals that in either case Lem no longer cares for the realist credentials of his fiction and does not put the two planets on the astronomical map (which is no doubt deliberate choice). Moreover, in contrast to his earlier novels, his outline histories of the two biospheres contain hidden (but nonetheless unmistakable) parallels to the prehistory of the biosphere of the Earth (though he was no believer in evolutionary repeatability). As this article tries to demonstrate the two peripheral facets of the world depicted in the novel are clearly related and subordinated to the central story line (concerned with the ‘necrosphere’ and humanity). This structural dependence as well as the way in which key aspects of the world depicted in the novel seem to illustrate the theses articulated in Lem’s essays justifi es the conclusion that The Invincible should be treated as the first novel of his late phase, represented – on account of its form – by His Master’s Voice.

Together with the dynamic development of modern computer systems, the possibilities of applying refined methods of nonparametric estimation to control engineering tasks have grown just as fast. This broad and complex theme is presented in this paper for the case of estimation of density of a random variable distribution. Nonparametric methods allow here the useful characterization of probability distributions without arbitrary assumptions regarding their membership to a fixed class. Following an illustratory description of the fundamental procedures used to this end, results will be generalized and synthetically presented of research on the application of kernel estimators, dominant here, in problems of Bayes parameter estimation with asymmetrical polynomial loss function, as well as for fault detection in dynamical systems as objects of automatic control, in the scope of detection, diagnosis and prognosis of malfunctions. To this aim the basics of data analysis and exploration tasks - recognition of outliers, clustering and classification - solved using uniform mathematical apparatus based on the kernel estimators methodology were also investigated