Closure of Kellingley Colliery marks end to British coal mining industry

Deep mining in the UK is now over as miners at Kellingley Colliery will embark on their very last shift today.

The pit’s 450 employees are set to receive receive severance packages at 12 weeks of average pay.

UK Coal, the owner of Kellingley Colliery, will manage the rundown of the mine until the site is redeveloped.

Workers on their final shift at Kellingley, where production began in 1965, are scheduled to resurface around 12:45pm.

On Saturday, miners will take part in a march through Knottingley to mark the closure.

Phil Whitehurst of GMB Union, said: “The final 450 miners, the last in a long line stretching back for generations, are having to search for new jobs before the shafts that lead down to 30 million tons of untouched coal are sealed with concrete.

“Kellingley and the coal industry in general has been let down by successive governments - both Conservative and Labour - who have failed to halt the pit closures.

“Margaret Thatcher in 1984 wanted to break the NUM because it was the bastion of the trade union movement but failed, but David Cameron’s Conservative Government with no industrial strategy has now succeeded where Thatcher left off and the last deep mine in the UK is to go.

“This is a very sad day as our proud industrial heritage is destroyed by the Conservatives.”

During its heyday, Kellingley Colliery employed more than 2,000 working, while upto 5000,000 were working in the coal industry nationally.

Shaun McLoughlin, the mine manager, added: “I would like to thank my colleagues for all their hard work and determination at this difficult time. Like them, I thought that I would see out my career here but it is not to be.

“This is a very sad day for everyone connected with the mine but I am proud that we have done the job safely and professionally.”

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