Coal mining in the United Kingdom

This article is about deep pit, underground mining. For surface mining, see Open-pit coal mining in the United Kingdom.

Coalfields of the United Kingdom in the 19th century

Coal mining in the United Kingdom dates back to Roman times and occurred in many different parts of the country. Britain's coalfields are associated with Northumberland and Durham, North and South Wales, Yorkshire, the Scottish Central Belt, Lancashire, Cumbria, the East and West Midlands and Kent. After 1972, coal mining quickly collapsed and had practically disappeared by the 21st century.[1] The consumption of coal—mostly for electricity—fell from 157 million tonnes in 1970 to just 587,000 tonnes in 2023.[2] Employment in coal mines fell from a peak of 1,191,000 in 1920 to 695,000 in 1956, 247,000 in 1976, 44,000 in 1993, 2,000 in 2015, and to 360 in 2022.[3]

Almost all onshore coal resources in the UK occur in rocks of the Carboniferous period, some of which extend under the North Sea. Bituminous coal is present in most of Britain's coalfields and is 86% to 88% carbon. In Northern Ireland, there are extensive deposits of lignite which is less energy-dense based on oxidation (combustion) at ordinary combustion temperatures.[4] According to Euracoal, the UK has 3.56 billion tonnes of identified hard coal resources with estimated total remaining coal resources possibly being as large as 187 billion tonnes.[5]

In 2020, the proposed Whitehaven deep coal mine gained planning permission but no works have begun, with legal challenges ongoing and no licence in place for seabed mining from the Marine Management Organisation.

  1. ^ Seddon, Mark (10 April 2013). "The long, slow death of the UK coal industry" (The Northerner blog). The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 April 2013. Earlier this month Maltby colliery in South Yorkshire closed down for good. At the end of a winter that saw 40% of our energy needs met by coal – most of it imported – we witnessed the poignant closing ceremony
  2. ^ "Coal mining". Coal Action Network. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  3. ^ Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, "Historical coal data: coal production, availability and consumption 1853 to 2022"
  4. ^ "Mineral Profile – Coal". bgs.ac.uk. British Geological Society. March 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  5. ^ "United Kingdom (6th ed.)". the voice of coal in Europe. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2024.