Hatfield Pit

[Filo]

Closes on Friday, the end of coal production in this country, 400 more men thrown out of work!

This Country is sat on billions of Tons of coal that we are now unable to extract it's just plain madness!

[bobjimwilly]

Closes on Friday, the end of coal production in this country, 400 more men thrown out of work!

This Country is sat on billions of Tons of coal that we are now unable to extract it's just plain madness!

Look North reported they couldn't sell the coal they were extracting?

[nice one rovers]

Closes on Friday, the end of coal production in this country, 400 more men thrown out of work!

This Country is sat on billions of Tons of coal that we are now unable to extract it's just plain madness!

That's right. How do you compete against coal extracted by men working abroad for a pittance?


Look North reported they couldn't sell the coal they were extracting?

[idler]

Even if you could only break even it must be better to keep people employed rather than pay them benefits.
How much money will be taken out of the local economy and how many other jobs will go as a result of this?

[Filo]

Converting Drax to Biomass imported from America and keeping Americans in employment is more important to the decision makers in this country

[drfchound]

Isn't Hatfield Pit some kind of workers co-operative?

[Wild Rover]

Yes it is "Worker Owned". Didn't they receive 4 million loan from NUM and a further 20 million from the government in the last couple of years to keep producing. For 400 workforce that seems to be 60K a man, to bring up coal no one wanted.

[The Red Baron]

Converting Drax to Biomass imported from America and keeping Americans in employment is more important to the decision makers in this country

A lot of that is due to carbon reduction targets. Yes, there is still plenty of coal under the ground, but the demand for it has largely been taken away.

[drfchound]

Yes it is "Worker Owned". Didn't they receive 4 million loan from NUM and a further 20 million from the government in the last couple of years to keep producing. For 400 workforce that seems to be 60K a man, to bring up coal no one wanted.

So i guess that the 400 owners will lose their £60k stake in the business money if it goes into liquidation.

Also, the real reason that the pit is closing is that it is too expensive to produce when compared to the cost of importing it.
Surely the taxpayers can't be expected to subsidise that pit can they?

[RobTheRover]

Converting Drax to Biomass imported from America and keeping Americans in employment is more important to the decision makers in this country

A lot of that is due to carbon reduction targets. Yes, there is still plenty of coal under the ground, but the demand for it has largely been taken away.

Absolutely correct, Baroni.  The EU carbon treaties are starting to bite now, on top of the Kyoto stuff.  This year half of the coal fired power stations will either shut or convert to gas or biomass, with the remaining 50% to close before 2020.  The government introduced EMR (Electricity Market Reform)  in April, which will see indirect taxation on businesses through the electricity bill to raise £billions to fund new nuclear facilities.  Interesting too that in recent weeks the wind generation levy has been slashed, so the big drive for more wind generation will slow seeing as the investment is now not going to pay back for a much longer time.  Bad timing, especially as Siemens/Dong have just announced the huge wind turbine plant at Hull.

It seems to me the government is putting a lot of its eggs in the basket marked "fracking".  Yesterday's blocking move by Lancashire County Council will have an impact on that.  Expect an appeal.

[Wild Rover]

drfchound. Lets face it the taxpayer has been subsidising it to the tune of 20 million over the last year or so. Not sure of pit output in that time , but if say 250,000 tons then that's £80 a ton, on top of whatever normal running costs . Would bet "Polish / eastern Bloc " coal is less than half that cost.

[drfchound]

Which i why they are having to cease production of course.

[Filo]

If the clean coal power station and carbon capture plant had been built at the Colliery site like it was planned then the coal would have been economical, but the government funding for it was redirected to a plant at Drax instead, funding that should have gone to a British company, instead it went to a European company that owns Drax

[coventryrover]

we have to manage all current fuel sources so we are less reliant on others.  i would like to see more emphasis on renewables , harness nature.

[Filo]

With Drax moving to biomass, it's obvious effect is being seen now, the decimation of the UK coal industry, but the knock on effects could well be heavily felt in other industries. A byproduct of burning coal is the millions of tonnes of ash that they produce, that ash is used to make the breeze blocks that builds our homes, a shortage of ash will result in a lower production of breeze blocks. Coal is more abrasive than biomass therefore the storage bunkers are going to last much longer with biomass, this impacts on the steel fabrication industry,work at a local fabrication company I know of as nearly dried up through this. But never mind, millions are being spent in America building special plants to produce the billions of tonnes of biomass to keep Drax going, jobs that are now in America instead of the UK!

[turnbull for england]

Maybe reading too much into it, but seems  sad that 400 odd job losses and the final  demise of the industry in the area  ( and  Im not looking through rose tinted glasses after seeing both personally and professionally what  a lifetime underground does to the health of those who worked there ) only created 17 comments on here. You would think it would create more of an interest

 

[idler]

Especially considering some of the pointless meandering threads that have gone on for page after page.

[roversdude]

Surprised you know who hasn't put a slant on this
Sad time agree with comment about carbon capture Budge had it all sorted only to have the rug pulled from under him a few years ago

[moses]

I have mixed feelings about this. Whilst the jobs going is terrible and the demise of the industry that has made Donny what it is.
I am glad I never had to work down one having seen what it did to my Grandad's and uncle's and health and breathing problems.

[BobG]

Mate of mine, back in the late 70's ended up down the pit. On our weekly booze cruise around the market place and places close by. it was soon very clear indeed that he was continually coughing up black shit. Really bloody horrible it was. In the end, he managed to get out, but I can imagine what sort of damage a lifetime down there must have done. He was only down there 2 or 3 years yet the impact it had was huge. I'd make Tories do the mining next time.

BobG

[IC1967]

Mate of mine, back in the late 70's ended up down the pit. On our weekly booze cruise around the market place and places close by. it was soon very clear indeed that he was continually coughing up black shit. Really bloody horrible it was. In the end, he managed to get out, but I can imagine what sort of damage a lifetime down there must have done. He was only down there 2 or 3 years yet the impact it had was huge. I'd make Tories do the mining next time.

BobG

You were nearly making sense. How anyone in this day and age would condone sending people downt' pit with all the health hazards that this occupation brings about is obviously a selfish fecker. All you're bothered about is cheap energy and feck the miner's health.

Selfish leftie loser.

IC1967 (the upholder of miner's health).