News: Redundancy notices issued at Maltby Colliery
Hargreaves Services plc, the UK's leading supplier of solid fuels, has issued the 500 employees at Maltby Colliery with notification of potential redundancies as they wait to see if geological problems at the Rotherham mine can be overcome.
Maltby occupies a site of 500 acres and employs over 500 staff and contractors. It is the last coking coal mine left in the UK and produces both high quality coking coal and power station coal. The colliery produces more than 1 million tonnes of coal per year.
Last month, Hargreaves warned that if a new panel, called T125, could not be mined then it would lead to the mothballing or even closure of the mine.
Conditions never before encountered at the 100 year old mine meant that further development was abandoned on the new panel earlier this year. This will lead to a gap in production of around 15 weeks between the current panel finishing this month and potential production on the T125 panel beginning.
The 90 days notice of redundancy is required by the government when more that 100 jobs are under threat. It has been issued whilst mining experts are reviewing the plans and performing additional investigative work on the T125 panel. The outcome of this comprehensive review will be known by the end of this month.
In a statement, Hargreaves Services said: "Initiating this process is considered to be prudent business practice and does not indicate that a decision on the future of Maltby has been taken. The relevant Government department is being notified.
"The Board of Hargreaves still expects to receive reports later in October that will advise on the geological, financial and health and safety risks associated with the T125 panel at the mine. The decision by the Board on the future of the colliery will be based on the conclusions of these reports."
When Hargreaves acquired the site in 2007 for £21.5m, they intended to keep the colliery open to 2015 and this end date was subsequently extended to 2017. Feasibility studies then extended the mine's life to 2025 at current output levels.
Hargreaves Services website
Images: nottsexminer on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licence
Maltby occupies a site of 500 acres and employs over 500 staff and contractors. It is the last coking coal mine left in the UK and produces both high quality coking coal and power station coal. The colliery produces more than 1 million tonnes of coal per year.
Last month, Hargreaves warned that if a new panel, called T125, could not be mined then it would lead to the mothballing or even closure of the mine.
Conditions never before encountered at the 100 year old mine meant that further development was abandoned on the new panel earlier this year. This will lead to a gap in production of around 15 weeks between the current panel finishing this month and potential production on the T125 panel beginning.
The 90 days notice of redundancy is required by the government when more that 100 jobs are under threat. It has been issued whilst mining experts are reviewing the plans and performing additional investigative work on the T125 panel. The outcome of this comprehensive review will be known by the end of this month.
In a statement, Hargreaves Services said: "Initiating this process is considered to be prudent business practice and does not indicate that a decision on the future of Maltby has been taken. The relevant Government department is being notified.
"The Board of Hargreaves still expects to receive reports later in October that will advise on the geological, financial and health and safety risks associated with the T125 panel at the mine. The decision by the Board on the future of the colliery will be based on the conclusions of these reports."
When Hargreaves acquired the site in 2007 for £21.5m, they intended to keep the colliery open to 2015 and this end date was subsequently extended to 2017. Feasibility studies then extended the mine's life to 2025 at current output levels.
Hargreaves Services website
Images: nottsexminer on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licence
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