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carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

12 years ago

Maltby faces closure as toxic gases and water thwart expansion plans

One of Britain’s last deep coal mines may be closed after its owner said that it had been unable to resolve a range of technical problems.

Hargreaves Services said that digging a new coal face at Maltby in Yorkshire, which would keep it in production, might not be viable. The process has been thwarted by the presence of toxic gases and water. Tim Ross, the Hargreaves chairman, said: “We anticipate that the abandonment of the [expansion] would lead to the mothballing or even closure of the mine,” he said.

The company will make a final decision next month, with 500 jobs on the line if the mine is shut down. However, it said it would raise more money from selling machinery and equipment than it would have to pay in redundancy packages.

The Maltby mine was acquired five years ago and makes up a fraction of the company’s earnings. It said in May that it had encountered “significant geological problems” in its expansion of the mine, which will cost the company £12 million to £16 million.

Despite the setback in Yorkshire, Hargreaves’ overall profits rose by 16.8 per cent to £43.1 million in the 12 months to May 31 this year, allowing the company to increase its full-year dividend by 14.8 per cent to 17.8p per share. That was after revenues rose by a quarter to £688.3 million, but the company’s net debt burden also increased by 17.7 per cent to £77.7 million.

Pitfalls

6 Deep coal mines left in Britain

3,548 Employed in those mines

33 Surface coal mines

2,472 Employees

Source: DECC

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/naturalresources/article3549784.ece

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

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Trewillan
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

What does "toxic gases" mean?

carnkie
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

12 years ago

No idea it's a straight quote.

The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

boaz
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

In the water which is coming out of the strata are hydrocarbons which include CH4 and derivatives of benzene

somersetminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

Problems with 'toxic gases' and water? more than usual? come off it, this is mining. scapegoat much?
things have been going the surface mine route for a long while, dont see anything changing anytime soon

Trewillan
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

Refer to previous post from "boaz" before you dismiss it as bollox.

There was a fatality a few years ago caused by hydrocarbons from an oil-bearing fault in a coal mine.

boaz
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

The fact that benzene is in the mine air, as well as other gasses you would generally expect in a coal mine namely CH4 and CO (and others) make the issue a "little more serious" and also hard to dispel in such a deep and humid underground workplace. As Trewillan states there was a fatality at another coal mine not 20 miles from Maltby a few years ago.

somersetminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

"Trewillan" wrote:
Refer to previous post from "boaz" before you dismiss it as bollox.

There was a fatality a few years ago caused by hydrocarbons from an oil-bearing fault in a coal mine.

I didnt dismiss it, but there are (or should be) control measures put in place for these occurances. theres no denying that deep mining is being run down on cost grounds, to be fair opencast is inherently safer for the guys on the sharp end as well

Ty Gwyn
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

Thorsby the fatality was at,
Ashfordly had a similar problem.
Bilsthorpe had a problem with weighting from vast amounts of water above the strata,resulting in 3 deaths in the 90`s

There are a few area`s pumping oil up there,so a serious factor underground.

boaz
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

#10

Hargreaves is issuing redundancy notices to 500 employees at Maltby

Phil Ford
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

#11

It could be that with the proposed closure of our good working coal-fired power stations that Hargreaves are getting out now without investing more into the pit before the loss of orders. No doubt that what coal-fired generating plant that remains will get its coal from overseas. The final nail in the coffin of our once mighty industry. :curse: :curse: :curse:

somersetminer
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

12 years ago

#12

"Phil Ford" wrote:
It could be that with the proposed closure of our good working coal-fired power stations that Hargreaves are getting out now without investing more into the pit before the loss of orders. No doubt that what coal-fired generating plant that remains will get its coal from overseas. The final nail in the coffin of our once mighty industry. :curse: :curse: :curse:

what percentage of maltby coal went to their cokeworks then, was it all imported? presumably that side of the business is still profitable...