LONDON – Coal mining at Thoresby Colliery, one of the last remaining underground coal mines in Britain, will cease on Friday and 360 employees will be made redundant, mine owner UK Coal said in a statement.
Mining at UK Coal’s Kellingley mine will also cease on or around December 15, the company said.
Underground coal mining has become unprofitable in Britain because of fierce competition from cheaper markets such as Colombia, Russia and the United States, falling domestic demand and a government drive away from carbon-intensive coal power generation.
UK Coal was placed into administration in 2013 after struggling with rising costs, hefty pension liabilities and strong competition from cheaper coal imports.
To help the business wind down its operations in a controlled way over 18 months, the UK government, coal producer Hargreaves Services and Harworth Estates gave UK Coal a combined loan of around 20 million pounds.
“This is a very sad day and clearly marks the end of an era,” UK Coal said in a statement about the end of mining at Thoresby, which is Nottinghamshire.
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