Big K facing closure as UK Coal battles to stave off ruin

Pit operators, UK Coal, have launched a 45-day formal consultation with unions as it draws up plans for a 'managed closure' over the next 18 months.

Thoresby Colliery in Nottinghamshire is also likely to fall victim to closure as the crisis hit mine operator looks to shore up a dire financial mess that threatens the future of the company.

Cheap coal imports from Russia and the Americas and the strength of the pound are being blamed by the company for the dire financial situation it finds itself in.

UK Coal is understood to need investment well in excess of £10 million if it is to carry on operating. The company is said to be in advanced talks with a rival operator to secure funding.

Closure of the Big K will leave Hatfield, near Doncaster, as the last remaining deep mine in the Yorkshire region. The decline of the British mining sector in recent decades has seen the number of Yorkshire pits dwindle from more than 50 over the last 30 years.