The scientific study of non-financial performance of business based on empirical firm information is crucial to economic theory and practice. This topic is the focus of research by reputable international institutions such as the UN, the Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative, the World Economic Forum, the OECD, the European Commission.

The assessment of the non-financial performance of the Extractive Industry Sector is of paramount importance for the detection of non-financial risks in this sector of primary importance to the economy. The positive and negative effects of the sector are of great importance not only in Bulgaria but also in all European countries. For this reason, 2020 has been identified as the year in which the focus will be placed on extractive regions in transition, as a result of which a Platform for Extractive Enterprises operating in extractive regions will be developed and the impact of these will be assessed in economic, social and environmental terms. In this sense, this paper is up-to-date, timely and relevant.

The paper consists of a theoretical and an empirical part. In the theoretical part, scientific theories and concepts on the non‑financial performance of companies are presented. Relational links have been drawn between the problem of the non-financial performance of mining companies and the corresponding Sustainable Development Goals, in accordance with the UN classification.

The empirical part summarizes the results of a statistical database over a five-year period. The structure of non-financial enterprises in the extractive sector by size of enterprises is presented, depending on the number of employees, the average annual gross salary with the cross section of the size of extractive enterprises, as well as the structure of the salary in the extractive sector by size of enterprises. The cost of extractive enterprises for the acquisition of non-current tangible and intangible assets with environmental purpose has been estimated. As a result of the empirical study, the positive aspects of the operation of the mining sector have been revealed, as well as some of the negative effects it produces. Recommendations have been formulated to the managers of extractive enterprises, public institutions and the non-governmental sector.