This is a list of
coal mines
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
in the United Kingdom, sorted between those operating in the 21st century and those closed earlier.
The last operating deep coal mine in the United Kingdom,
Kellingley colliery
Kellingley Colliery was a deep coal mine in North Yorkshire, England, east of Ferrybridge power station. It was owned and operated by UK Coal.
The colliery closed on 18 December 2015, marking the end of deep-pit coal mining in Britain. The ...
in North Yorkshire, closed in December 2015. Most continuing coal mines are collieries owned by
freeminer
''Freeminer'' is an ancient title given to coal or iron miners in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, who have earned the right to mine personal plots, known as ''gales''.
History of Freemining
For hundreds of years, mining of the Fore ...
s, or are
open pit mines
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...
of which there were 26 in 2014.
21st century
These coal mines closed in the 21st century or still operate.
For the year given.
Earlier
These coal mines closed before the 21st century.
Ww With given year of peak.
See also
*
List of collieries in Yorkshire (1984–2015)
*
Coal mining in the United Kingdom
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as stratum, rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
List of Northern English Coal Minesat the Durham Mining Museum.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...