http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/17/uk-britain-coal-closure-idUKKCN0I618B20141017 

Sounds like a pipe dream. They'd need a lot of money invested in developing the pits to keep them producing. I can't see any of them staying open with coal being far cheaper abroad.

I think you're right, the issues are much more complex than the article suggests.

If there was any viability in the industry we'd see major investors getting involved...

Almost all media reports speak of the three major English collieries as the last three collieries in the UK and blithely ignore the two medium drift mines (Aberpergwm and Unity - the latter mothballed; both in the Neath Valley, South Wales); the two small drift mines (Crofton in West Yorkshire; Eckington in Derbyshire), and the four micro mines* (Ayle on the Cumbria-Northumberland border, Hilltop in Lancashire, Monument in the Forest of Dean; Dan y graig No.4 in the Neath Valley, South Wales).

[* a term sometimes used by the Coal Authority as it struggles to classify smaller mines by size]

Are you sure Crofton has started?

This companies web page has not been up-dated since March,
And nothing on the news since August.

If you go (just) by the numbers its surprising we have any collierys at all right now. What you need to keep the coal mining industry going is the will to do it, lacking now especially as so many of the guys in the industry are getting ready to retire. Fracking has just moved the timescale forward a bit. The only place coal mining is going to make any sense in this country, given the short sighted government 'green energy' policy, is below the steelworks at Port Talbot, Margam pit (shelved, for now).

Margam,will it ever open?
The amount of boreholes that have been drilled on that site,its a wonder there is any coal left.
A few years back when Tata were showing real interest in this project,a few of us went to the Mining engineers institute at the Uni in Cardiff,the new manager of the Margam project was giving a talk on this venture,
If i remember correctly the costings were £300,000,000 to drive 2 drifts from the steel works down over 3k at 2 differing pitches to avoid the old workings of Newlands,
Any geologists that know this area,know its disturbed and very gassy,but with 4 decent seams available.
Tata`s plan was to target only one of these seams at the start,i think they did mention working 2 seams later on,but to work 300m faces or the project would not go ahead.

The price of coking coal will have to go through the roof before this ever starts,and their method of extraction change for it to succeed.

Are you sure Crofton has started?

This companies web page has not been up-dated since March,
And nothing on the news since August.

I've no information on whether it has begun to achieve anything on the ground but it seemed safer to count it than to omit it - otherwise someone would immediately post that Crofton was omitted...

Anyone live close enough to Wakefield to have a mooch around the site?

Ty Gwyn - you post on the Welsh Coal Mines Forum (I'm not brave enough!) - perhaps you could ask Cookie about its status?

Re: Margam: geologically it would be interesting if the proposed drifts were driven as they would open up an area of the synclinal axis that has never been seen. Whether the classic south crop issues of poor roofs and closely-spaced faults would lessen sufficiently in the vicinity of the axis to permit economic working remains something of an unknown. The density of boreholes (shown on the BGS website though most of the logs will remain commercially confidential for quite a few more years yet) suggest that the detailed structure and faulting interval should be tolerably clearly known.

Almost 20 years ago senior BSC staff were prophesying that no new coke oven batteries would ever be built in the UK due to environmental legislation and that instead coke would be imported - or that primary iron smelting (blast furnaces + BOS) would cease in the UK and that slab would be imported.

Tata's long term intentions for Port Talbot (and hence the liklihood of the Margam prospect being developed) have become much more uncertain to outsiders now that they have announced the sale of their last English integrated plant: Redcar was sold to Thai steelmaker SSI in 2011 and Tata has just announced the prospective sale of Scunthorpe to the American-Swiss Klesch Group. The structure and ownership of UK integrated steelmaking (the only prospective customer for Margam coking coal) is in a period of rapid and uncertain change.

300 mil for 2 drifts sounds a bit OTT to me Ty, bearing in mind down here Wolf mining got in the region of AU$300M of funding in place for their entire project, even given the cost difference between open cast and u/g. Unless that was actually the cost to full production also. However as you say they could offset the cost bit by bit not hitting everything at once. As the end user significant savings on shipping foreign stuff in would reduce the actual cost quite a bit I reckon.

Re: Margam: geologically it would be interesting if the proposed drifts were driven as they would open up an area of the synclinal axis that has never been seen. Whether the classic south crop issues of poor roofs and closely-spaced faults would lessen sufficiently in the vicinity of the axis to permit economic working remains something of an unknown. The density of boreholes (shown on the BGS website though most of the logs will remain commercially confidential for quite a few more years yet) suggest that the detailed structure and faulting interval should be tolerably clearly known.

Almost 20 years ago senior BSC staff were prophesying that no new coke oven batteries would ever be built in the UK due to environmental legislation and that instead coke would be imported - or that primary iron smelting (blast furnaces + BOS) would cease in the UK and that slab would be imported.

Tata's long term intentions for Port Talbot (and hence the liklihood of the Margam prospect being developed) have become much more uncertain to outsiders now that they have announced the sale of their last English integrated plant: Redcar was sold to Thai steelmaker SSI in 2011 and Tata has just announced the prospective sale of Scunthorpe to the American-Swiss Klesch Group. The structure and ownership of UK integrated steelmaking (the only prospective customer for Margam coking coal) is in a period of rapid and uncertain change.

Interesting point about BSCs opinion of coking prospects, well they got proved wrong didnt they! I would have thought that now, if you couldnt make coke here you couldnt smelt, ie. if you cant afford/are restricted from having coke ovens on site youd say smelting would not be feasible, I dont think coke 'travels' (well not 100% of it, I'm aware of Hargreave's operations).
Tata has a fair size business here still, I dont see them upping sticks but I didnt know about Scunthorpe, thats a little worrying after Redcar

... I didnt know about Scunthorpe, thats a little worrying after Redcar

http://www.tatasteeleurope.com/en/news/news/2014-mou-regarding-long-products-europe  for the full list of plants being considered for sale - its a lot more than just Scunthorpe - essentially its all long products, leaving only flat and coated products, and engineering / special steels. From a Welsh perspective (which will comprise most of Tata's residual holdings in the UK), ever since Corus was created, its been worrying that IJmuiden pretty closely duplicates the Welsh plants' products. Tata's enormous Indian plant expansion has been mainly at the heavy end - but in a decade or more perhaps coatings may be added and who can predict where that would lead? Llanwern has at times imported slab; Alphasteel / Mir has mainly used imported slab for some years. The whole landscape of steelmaking has changed. On a more positive note though - who would have predicted the reopening of Redcar? About the only thing that seems to be able to be said with certainty is that no certainties remain!

Almost all media reports speak of the three major English collieries as the last three collieries in the UK and blithely ignore the two medium drift mines (Aberpergwm and Unity - the latter mothballed; both in the Neath Valley, South Wales); the two small drift mines (Crofton in West Yorkshire; Eckington in Derbyshire), and the four micro mines* (Ayle on the Cumbria-Northumberland border, Hilltop in Lancashire, Monument in the Forest of Dean; Dan y graig No.4 in the Neath Valley, South Wales).

Hilltop closed a few months ago. :(

Tarboat,
Regarding Hilltop,it did close back in the Spring when the last deputy left to work at Boulby,then it was supposedly up for sale,then the last we heard was that Billy Clayton sold out to his partner,nothing heard since.
Presume it has it remained idle since then with difficulty in obtaining a new deputy?

Sad news. Closed closed and licence surrendered, or working suspended?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd267.htm  It is proposed that instead of specific qualifications, that mine operators appoint suitably qualified or experienced persons. The other proposed changes are very extensive - the document is well worth browsing.