Well it finally looks like the end has come for deep mined coal in Britain
I heard this this morning , but not much reporting of it
It's finally job done for the Tories

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-32064963 

In England it sure does look like the end,Hatfield won`t be long in following.
That will leave Aberpergwm to stand alone unless Unity finds a new buyer.

Lets hope this venture takes off , and the little project in Barnsley
But I imagine that this is now on hold because of the plummeting world coal price ?

http://www.westcumbriamining.com/ 

Hatfield itself isnt in trouble yet
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-30711745 
once the service industry that looked after all the UK coal pits gets wound up though, thats likely to make deep coal mining in this country uneconomic even if the price of coal doesnt

I think it says in the article that Hatfield will limp on until its scheduled closing date of 2016

It's finally job done for the Tories

:offtopic::ban:

Chris.

It's finally job done for the Tories

:offtopic::ban:

Chris.

Ok i'll balance it up
And 13 years of Labour (fighting for the working classes)failed to do anything for the mining industry either

Coal prices are falling, partly because of cheap Asian coal, and partly because Western countries are replacing coal fired power stations with windmills, arrays of solar panels and magic fairy juice (made by the Green Party out of old hummus). In 5 years all of the big power stations will have to stop using high CO2 emitting fuel - thats an EU directive. So the only real market for coal in the UK will be heritage railways and the odd stationary steam engine.
Maybe when the lights go out our governments may reconsider ? Probably not, as they will do everything to keep the electric supplied to Islington.

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The Coal Authority now term all underground mines "Deep Mines" so there are currently eleven deep mines in existence (mostly 2014 data, some 2013 data):

Three shaft mines:

Kellingsley (UK Coal) employing c.700 and producing c.1.4mt pa; to close by the end of 2015.

Thoresby (UK Coal) employing c.600 and producing c.1.2mt pa; to close by the end of 2015.

Hatfield (Hatfield Colliery Partnership) employing 500 and producing c.1.0mt pa; to close by summer 2016.

Two medium size drift mines:

Aberpergwm (Energybuild Ltd, a subsidiary of Walter Energy Inc of USA) employing 60-odd on development during which work around 01.mt pa or somewhat less is produced. Until the end of 2013 it employed around 300.

Unity (Unity Mine Ltd) mothballed and seeking a purchaser.

One 'large' small mine:

Eckington (European Coal Products) employing around 20 and producing around 20kt pa. Its planning consent expires in January 2023 which coincides with the coal within its licence also running out.

Five small mines (some of which used to be termed “micro mines” by the Coal Authority):

Ayle (Ayle Colliery Co) - anyone got up to date information?

Hill Top (Grimebridge Colliery Co Ltd) – produced 3kt in 2011 suggesting around 3 or 4 employed. It has to close no later than August 2018 which is when its planning consent expires.

Monument (Ray Ashly, Richard Daniels & Neil Jones) - anyone got up to date information?

Dan y Graig No.4 (Three D's Mining Ltd) – coaling as of 2013 and 2014; anyone got up to date information?

Nant Hir No.2 – reopening as of 2014 and as of present; anyone know the name of the company that owns it?

To these can be added:

Crofton (New Crofton Co-Operative Colliery Co Ltd) – secured planning permission 2014 and is now seeking finance to start developing; its proposals speak of up to 50 jobs.

In 2014 the UK produced 11.5mt (3.7mt deep mined and 7.8mt from “surface mines”) and imported 40.7mt (46% from Russia, 27% from Columbia, 23% from USA, 2% from the EU and 2% from other countries).

In 2014, coal usage was divided between: power stations 38.4mt, coke ovens and blast furnaces 6.4mt, domestic 0.6mt; patent fuel (also mostly domestic) 0.3mt, other users 1.6mt.

In 2014 the energy mix for electricity generation was: gas 30%, coal 29% nuclear 19% and renewable 19%. Renewables was made up of: bioenergy 6.8%, onshore wind 5.5%, offshore wind 4.0%, hydro 1.8%, solar 1.2%.

At the end of the year coal stocks, mostly held at power stations, totalled 18mt.

Some of the percentages will not add to exactly 100% due to rounding.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/415987/coal.pdf 

UK preserved railways ran 1.3m passenger train miles in 2014 *. If - and this is a wild guess - average coal consumption is 1cwt per mile (allowing for coal used firing up, standing at stations, etc), then UK preserved railways use 65kt pa. The actual figure might be half this, twice this or four times this but either way its a fraction of 1% of total UK consumption.

http://www.hra.uk.com/docs/Annual%20Report%202014%20v2.1.pdf  ]

Just adding to what has been stated. In Scotland the Longannet power station is set to close early, probably this year.
The Nationalist government here only want renewables!
So when our nuclear power stations reach the end of their active lives, in 3-5 years, we no doubt will be trying to import electricity from south of the border.
There is a lot unmined coal in Scotland, but with the Edinburgh government's attitude it is going to stay there!

There are millions upon millions of tons of it everywhere , most ex miners cant understand why their pits were closed , with the reserves they still had
Pits were political pawns it would seem , next it will be hospitals

In 2014, coal usage was divided between: power stations 38.4mt, coke ovens and blast furnaces 6.4mt, domestic 0.6mt; patent fuel (also mostly domestic) 0.3mt, other users 1.6mt.

In 2014 the energy mix for electricity generation was: gas 30%, coal 29% nuclear 19% and renewable 19%. Renewables was made up of: bioenergy 6.8%, onshore wind 5.5%, offshore wind 4.0%, hydro 1.8%, solar 1.2%.

I must say that the percentages for wind are pitiful considering the number of the bl**dy things that have been thrown up. I think the solar could have maybe doubled since those figures were published.

worth mentioning that the coal usage will have dropped off further due to the last independant UK coke producer shutting up shop at the end of 2014

There are millions upon millions of tons of it everywhere , most ex miners cant understand why their pits were closed , with the reserves they still had
Pits were political pawns it would seem , next it will be hospitals

Oh and by the way its not as simple as political agendas, operator greed has a lot to do with it as well. Any industry that does not run on people sitting in front of computers in this country seems to want more than just its pound of flesh lately

Aberpergwm producing 4,000 ton per week on CM`s.

Is Eckington working?

Dan y graig No.4 is supposedly producing

Nant Hir still re-opening,Metal Innovations of Llandow are the owners.

Many thanks for the updates!

Aberpergwm's output seems to have doubled in around the last year or more. Presumably manpower has increased also.

I have no information post-2013 concerning activity at Eckington; I do not know whether it is currently active, I'm afraid.

I wonder if Nant Hir No.2 Colliery is owned Metal Innovations Ltd, or by its sister company Thomas:Croft Mining Ltd?

These companies have had previous and current directors in common and share an address, and both are still active. Currently Gareth John Thomas is listed as sole director of both companies. No members of the Croft family have been listed as directors of Thomas:Croft Mining since 2005 but the company title remains unchanged.

Thomas:Croft Mining used to own Black Barn Colliery.

Around 70 working at Aberpergwm

Gareth Thomas of Metal Innovations Ltd owns Nant Hir

Thomas Croft Mining was a company name associated with the Blandfords that run Blaentillery Colliery,

Never heard of the connection with Black Barn has Hillard and partner were previous owners to Metal Innovations.

Things could change??
http://nae.net.au/projects/united-kingdom/lochinvar/ 

FYI, just received from Crofton:

(Quote)
Hello,

Many have indicated they would like to invest in this remarkable project, but have not yet sent their application forms, so this is just a quick reminder. There is also some important news to update you on, so please read on….

So far the share offer in support of New Crofton Co-op Colliery has raised over £110,000 which is really encouraging, but we are still well short of our target of £1 million. The mine is not dependent on CCIS’s contribution and is making real progress with other funders towards the required amount. However, CCIS would like to support NCCC as much as we can, so the directors have decided to keep the offer open until 30th June 2015. All applications received before the original closing date (31st March – next Tuesday) will have their interest calculated annually on the 31st March. For applications received between the 31st March and 30th June 2015, interest will be calculated on 30th June each year.

I am also pleased to tell you that the directors have decided to increase the target interest rate by 1% to Base Rate + 5.5% (6% at current rates). This will apply to all shareholders and we hope it will help to attract more investors.

Please do give the share offer some more consideration, and pass on information about the mine and the investment opportunity to your friends and colleagues. The website (www.ccis.uk.com) and on-line version of the Offer Document have now been updated, and we also have a facebook page with further news and updates (www.facebook.com/CoalfieldCommunityInvestmentSociety).

If you would like to be removed from the email list, then let me know. If you have any questions or concerns, then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kindest regards,

Toby White
Coalfield Community Investment Society Limited
17 Oak Drive, Garforth, Leeds. LS25 1PQ
T: +44 (0)7731 970 692
E: [email protected] (unquote)

hope this is useful...

MARK

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Thomas Croft Mining was a company name associated with the Blandfords that run Blaentillery Colliery,

Never heard of the connection with Black Barn has Hillard and partner were previous owners to Metal Innovations.

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmwelaf/ucenergy/m3.pdf 

Jones & Hillard owned it in the 1990s.

http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/forum/read.php?2,4716,4726 

@ Alasdair Neill: thanks for the link - I was not aware of this prospect though had heard of the Cannonbie coalfield. It seems rather cut up by faults both along the strike and the dip; presumably there will be a risk of further small fractures being encountered that were not defined by the boreholes or detected by the geophys. I wonder how many viable faces could be fitted in? Its an interesting prospect and well worth watching.

http://www.ccis.uk.com/first-project-nccc  The latter page states "NCCC requires approximately £12 M in capital to cover the period up to the commencement of coaling. Negotiations are on-going with potential investors and approximately £8 M has already been committed. CCIS aims to raise at least £1 M in the next few months, which we believe will help to release further funding in time for NCCC to start operations in the summer of 2015."It'll be interesting to monitor progress with capital raising over the coming months.