Asfordby miner: future looks black

Miners Ask Blair to Help Keep Pit Open

RJB Mining announced the Leicestershire pit was to shut because of "adverse geological conditions", and that most of the workers would be offered transfers to other pits. Some redundancies were likely, though.

The Industry Minister John Battle has called for an urgent report into the decision to shut down the super-pit and has vowed to fight for the British coal industry's future.

Despite months of geological problems, and heightened speculation that closure was imminent, miners were bitterly disappointed. Asfordby was dubbed the "super pit" because of the quality of its reserves and high-tech mining equipment.

Neil Greatrex, president of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers, said there was no reason the pit should close, and would not rule out a bid by workers to buy out the pit. But union officials later said that a plan by RJB to start salvaging its equipment from the pit on Monday would scupper any plan to keep the pit working.

Superpit to shut

Mr Greatrex said the union would be commissioning its own independent report into whether it was right to close the pit on safety grounds, but it would need the Government's support.

He said: "The Labour Government should back us up as we helped them get where they are. I have challenged Mr Blair and John Prescott to come here and put things right but I think if nothing is done, then by the year 2005 the coal industry in Britain will be finished. I've just been amazed by the Government's attitude after all they have said."

Bad Underground Conditions

RJB chief executive Richard Budge said: "Everyone has given 100% in an attempt to beat the geological difficulties at Asfordby. We could not have asked for a better team effort to overcome the mining conditions we faced.

Production at the mine, which was developed by British Coal at a cost of £320 million, is suffering because of three volcanic sills which lie above the coal seam. RJB said these sills had caused unusual fracturing, leading to damage to coalface equipment and water seepage, and that it had failed to beat the problem despite trying a number of alternative systems of mining.

Since coming into production in April 1995, Asfordby has produced 1.5 million tonnes of coal. Asked whether the company would appeal to the Government for financial assistance for the mine, a company spokesman said: "It is not a problem that can be solved by pouring money at into it. If it was, we would have done it by now."

Miners at Asfordby spoke of their shock at the closure of the pit they thought would be their workplace until they retired. Coal face electrician Darren Hayward, 28, of Mansfield, said: "We don't know if it's the management's fault or if we can just put it down to Mother Nature being against us. The conditions underground on the coalface are really bad. There's about 12 foot of water and very little oxygen."