Open-pit coal mining in the United Kingdom is in decline. Output has fallen every year since 2010. In 2010, the United Kingdom was forecast to produce about of coal a year from open-pit mines. Most came from Scotland, with the largest operator there being the Scottish Coal subsidiary of Scottish Resources Group. Actual production in 2010 was over 13 million tonnes but this has declined to less than 8 million tonnes in 2014. Deep coal mining stopped completely at the end of 2015 and the UK is planning to phase out the use of coal to produce electricity by 2024. Statistics on open-pit coal mining are compiled by the British Geological Survey from information provided by local planning authorities. Open-pit coal mines usually last four or five years at extraction rates of up to a quarter-million tons a year.
Current sites
In September 2017, there were 9 sites operating in the UK with a total manpower of 590. Production has declined to around 3 million tonnes in 2017.
Wales
Miller Argent run the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme in eastern Merthyr Tydfil, which involves mining the coal from under 367 hectares of land made derelict by earlier coal-mining operations; the coal will be provided to the Aberthaw Power Station on the Glamorgan coast. The project started in 2007 and is expected to last 17.5 years. Aberpergwm was also reopened in 2018. Celtic Energy only operated the expanded East Pit, until Nant Helen was reopened in 2019 to replace the soon to be closed East Pit.
Banks Mining started working on its Bradley site in May 2018 amid protesters camping on the site. Banks has three additional operation sites in Shotton, and Brenkley Lane both in Northumberland, and Rusha in Scotland.
Recent history
The following information relates to 2016 and earlier.
Production
In November 2015, the UK Government announced that all the remaining coal-fired power stations would be closed by 2025. In February 2020 the UK government said that it would consult on bringing the closure date forward to 2024. Production figures in tonnes, 2010 to 2014. Source
Year
England
Wales
Scotland
GB total
2014
2,884,935
2,488,321
2,497,014
7,870,270
2013
3,411,955
2,342,812
2,829,155
8,583,922
2012
2,956,331
2,408,313
4,823,357
10,188,001
2011
2,948,997
2,102,995
5,527,765
10,579,757
2010
2,599,941
4,423,295
6,038,479
13,061,715
Scotland
Hargreaves plc recently closed the following operations:
;Tower Colliery site in Hirwaun The deep mine at Tower Collieryclosed in 2008, but there is a plan to build an 80-hectare 165-metre open-pit mine to extract a remaining 6Mton reserve of anthracite, for which a planning application was registered in July 2010. The opencast operation stopped production in March 2017 after it was unable to sell the coal to Aberthaw Power Station due to stricter environmental controls. ;Nant-y-Mynydd Energybuild Ltd operated an opencast site here; it was estimated to have 450 kton of recoverable coal in 2006, which has mostly been excavated between 2006 and 2009. The overburden was sold as road stone. ;Selar The site was approved in 1995 but operation was delayed until 1997. Celtic Energy operated a mine at Selar in the Neath Valley. Planning permission was granted to extend the extraction by 800,000 tonnes in 2013 which will keep the mine operational until 2020. The site was mothballed in 2015 due to low coal prices. Celtic Energy now only operates only the expanded East Pit. ;Nant Llesg Miller Argent planned to extract 6m tonnes of coal at Nant Llesg, near Rhymney. Their application was rejected by Caerphilly county borough council on 7 August 2015. The company is considering an appeal.
England
Banks Mining applied in October 2015 for planning permission to extract about three million tonnes of coal and other minerals from the Highthorn site in Northumberland. The application was rejected in March 2018.
UK Coal (England and Scotland)
;Active sites in 2010
Long Moor: 725 kton initial reserve
Lodge House : 1Mton initial reserve; further 800 kton awaiting planning approval August 2011
Cutacre : 900 kton initial reserve
Steadsburn : 1Mton initial reserve plus 300 ktons of fireclay
These three sites are now owned by UKCSMR Limited.
Coal extraction at Huntington Lane ended in 2013 but, in May 2015, it was claimed that the site had been "left as an eyesore".
Site restoration
The Sunday Herald reported on 13 July 2014 that "Mines in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Fife, abandoned by Scottish Coal when it went bust in April 2013, are threatened by rising water levels, contaminated lagoons and erosion". On 9 July 2015 an Opencast Coal Summit was held to "explore what the planning system can do to ensure all opencast coal sites are fully and sustainably restored for the benefit of communities and the environment". After the summit a report was published by Carl Sargeant AM, the Welsh Minister for Natural Resources.
Opposition
Open-pit coal mining is opposed by the Loose Anti-Opencast Network and by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
