UK Coal, Britain's biggest coal producer, closed its site at Rossington, near Doncaster, on Friday.
The company said £20m was needed to open up more reserves at the pit, but it could not finance the investment.
The Rossington pit once produced a million tonnes of coal a year and employed more than 1,000 miners but it has faced costly geological problems.
UK Coal chief executive Gerry Spindler said: "The men at Rossington have done an excellent job, often in geological conditions more difficult than any you experience in mining elsewhere in the world.
"There are still reserves remaining at Rossington, but they require a major investment which we just cannot finance at this time.
Remaining UK deep mines
Kellingley, West Yorks
Maltby, South Yorks
Welbeck, Notts
Harworth, Notts
Thoresby, Notts
Daw Mill, near Coventry
"However, we will continue our efforts to identify a partner who is willing to underwrite the investment, though the options are limited."
Miners at Rossington will next week start the process of preparing for the recovery of equipment, much of which will be refurbished before being installed at other mines.
UK Coal announced last year that production at Rossington would cease, as its half-yearly losses reached £30.6m.
About 80 miners have left since then and most of the remaining 224 workers are expected to stay to recover equipment.
Rossington, which opened in 1915, was closed by British Coal in 1993 but was reopened the following year, since when it has produced 8.4 million tonnes of coal for industrial, domestic and power station use.
The Rossington closure leaves just seven deep mines in the whole of the UK. UK Coal has six other pits, while the seventh is in Tower in south Wales.
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LAST DAYS: Miner Bob Stannard at Rossington Colliery on the final day of production mining. Bob has worked at the pit for 36 years. He said: "The workforce here is magnificent." |
DONCASTER'S last remaining deep coal mine has ceased production, signalling the end of an era for the town's proud mining heritage.
On Friday, the final production shift at Rossington Colliery clocked off, bringing the curtain down on 94 years of history at the pit - and leaving Doncaster without a working mine for the first time in a century and a half.
Most of the pit's 230 staff will remain on site until May to salvage valuable equipment from underground but, while owner UK Coal insists it will try to re-open the colliery, many miners are sceptical.
Rossington NUM branch president John Gibson said: "If the will was there on the part of UK Coal, a way could have been found to keep the pit open. That is the mens' view."
But UK Coal insisted it had no choice but to mothball the pit. Last year, the firm revealed it was losing up to £1 million each month because geological problems had made the coal difficult and costly to extract.
Production director Bill Tinsley explained: "As we exploit reserves further from the pit shafts, they have become more disturbed by geological faulting which inhibits production, adding to both the mining and safety risks.
With just a small parcel of coal left remaining on the current face, we have established reasonable conditions and have concluded it is now the right time to prepare the face for the recovery of equipment which can be put to more productive use elsewhere."
The colliery has been rescued from closure once before - it was shut down in 1993 but was reopened by RJB Mining a year later. Since then, more than 8.4 million tonnes of coal have been produced.
And with former RJB boss Richard Budge set to reopen nearby Hatfield Colliery with investment from Russian mining giant Kuzbassrazrezugol, there is cautious optimism that there may yet be another chapter in Rossington's story.
Miner Bob Stannard, who has worked at the pit for 36 years, said: "It's happened here before - we thought it was closed for good in 1993, so there is always hope. The coal is there, the workforce is magnificent, we just need the investment to make the colliery work."
It is a sentiment echoed by UK Coal chief executive Gerry Spindler, who said the company was looking for a partner to invest £20 million in opening a new seam at Rossington.
Mr Spindler added: "The men at Rossington have done an excellent job, often in geological conditions more difficult than any you experience in mining elsewhere in the world."
About half the pit's workforce have been found jobs at other UK Coal sites, but many will now face an uncertain future.
John Dowling, a Rossington miner since 1982, said: "All my family have worked here down the years, and my brother works here now. I have no plans at all beyond May - I'm just concentrating on coming here and doing my job until then."
06 April 2006
http://www.minersadvice.co.uk/news.htm#russians1
http://www.minersadvice.co.uk/hatfieldmain.htm
