restore the degraded land to its original functions or to give it new utility or natural values. In many countries, these activities are continued until the area is fully equipped/furnished for a particular desired use. However, this is not the case in all countries, such as Poland, where post-mining activities are undertaken in two stages, reclamation and land development. Reclamation involves establishing or restoring the functional and/or natural values of degraded or devastated land by shaping the terrain relief (earthworks, slope reinforcement, etc. ), improvement of physical and chemical soil properties, adjustment of hydrological conditions, redevelopment of soil, and reconstruction or construction of necessary roads. In general, reclamation should be understood as the preparation of land for the second stage of development, which is the preparation for sustainable use of the post-mining area. This land development includes targeted measures enabling appropriate use of reclaimed areas in accordance with the objectives of reclamation, (e.g., utilities, buildings, appropriate infrastructure for sports and recreation, etc.). In this approach, it should be emphasized that the mining entrepreneur is responsible for completing the reclamation, and the future user of the area is responsible for the land development [1], which consequently causes the costs of reclamation and land development to be borne by the mining entrepreneur and future user of the reclaimed area, respectively. Such a division leads to the situation where the mining entrepreneur will seek to minimize the value of the reclamation project, which in consequence will maximize the cost of developing the reclaimed area. Conversely, the future user of the land developed will want to maximize the cost of reclamation, which will lead to less investment for land development. In addition, it is also difficult to define a border between reclamation and land development. An attempt to indicate this border by distinguishing the scope of reclamation works as the first stage of revitalization of post-mining areas is, therefore, justified. A mining entrepreneur conscious of the reclamation commitments should secure financial means for this purpose throughout the mine life cycle from the start of mining operations. Effective planning of revitalization activities at every stage of mining operation minimizes reclamation costs. It should be emphasized here that, in many countries, there is an obligation to secure funds for this purpose. One of the forms of such financial security are bonds, the value of which is usually not commensurate with the real cost of reclamation. This type of financial security is used in countries such as the United States of America (USA), Canada, Australia, and China. Another form of financial security for damage to the natural environment, used in Portugal and Slovakia, may be insurance or bank guarantees [2]. It should be added that the obligation to determine the extent of a financial commitment in the case of reclamation is different for different situations, and should be based on guidelines developed by state institutions or based on a calculation of reclamation costs [3; 4; 5]. Such a calculation should be made and the funds secured before a permit for mineral extraction is granted. A different solution is used in Poland. According to the Polish Geological and Mining Law [6], a mining entrepreneur exploiting a mineral using the open-pit method pays the equivalent of not less than 10% of the anticipated exploitation costs into a fund of mining plant closure (FMPC). Funds paid into this account can be used only for liquidation of the mine and, thus, also for reclamation. It should be emphasized that entrepreneurs usually pay the minimum funds required by the legal conditions of the fund at the point of mining plant closure. Because these funds cannot be used for purposes other than for decommissioning mining plants, payments from this fund may be made only after approval of the plan for the mining plant closure.