BACK TO TOP

Key facts: Aberpergwm coal mine expansion

We'll keep this post up-to-date with the key facts so keep checking back!

Key facts


Coal & refuse to be excavated: 72 million tonnes in total - 30 million tonnes of which will be "middling" coal to be dumped or put back into the coal mine.

Coal to be sold: 42 million tonnes during the life of the extension

CO2: 100-120 million tonnes of CO2, according to uses listed below (2022 BEIS Conversion Factors)

Methane: up to 1.17 million tonnes of methane, a powerful climate accelerant

Coal operator (mining company): Energybuild Ltd/Energybuild Mining Ltd.

Type: Anthracite

Claimed uses:

  • 2022: According to Energybuild Ltd, 60% of the coal goes to steelworks, 20% domestic heating (80% overall), with the remaining to mixed industrial uses
  • 2023: Energybuild Ltd predicts, overall, 70% of the coal will go to steelworks and domestic heating (reduction of 10%), with the remaining to mixed industrial uses

The planning application said power stations and steel works. With Aberthaw power station closed, Energybuild now talks of Pulverised injection for steelmaking, household heating, cement, and water filtration.

County Council Local Planning Authority: Neath Port Talbot

Address: Glynneath, Neath, SA11 5AJ

Physical size: Because this is an underground mine, much of the excavation would be invisible but very real, as communities victim to flooding mine shafts have experienced. The underground tunnelling has permission to extend to 2.3km squared, taking you roughly half an hour to walk from one side of the tunnels to the other. And this doesn’t factor in the vertical shafts, sending offshoots that go beneath the River Dulais.

Time: Planning permission to mine coal until 2039 (this is often subsequently extended).

Published: 22/04/2022

Share now:

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

3 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Derek West
Derek West
2 years ago

This insanity seems to have infected many world Governments, despite numerous warnings that we must dump fossil fuels urgently, our politicians continue to endorse and encourage the further mining of coal. Thanks to these decisions we will most certainly face a catastrophic future.

Lucy Kelly
Lucy Kelly
2 years ago

Coal is bad for the environment, so we should avoid it, if possible!

Pam Wiliiams
Pam Wiliiams
1 year ago

The argument that Tata steel needs the anthracite produced by Aberpergwm is now very questionable since the UK government has sad it will give £300 million towards a transition to using arc furnaces. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/uk-government-plans-give-port-26045545

Never miss an update! Sign up to our Newsletter

OTHER STORIES

Legal challenge against Cumbrian coal mine heard in court

From Tuesday 16th July to lunchtime 18th July, Lord Holgate heard the case, brought by South Lakes Action on Climate Change and Friends of the Earth, against the Government’s 2022 approval of a new underground coal mine at Whitehaven.

Horse Hill Supreme Court victory

Fantastic news today, 20th June 2024. The UK Supreme Court has set a historical precedent, in overturning a previous ruling, considering the legality of approving a new oil site in Surrey. The ground breaking decision stating that ‘downstream’ emissions (those released when a product is used) must be factored into decisions on…

UK election 2024: Parties line up to ban more coal mining

The UK’s last coal-fired power station closes this year, and last year is confirmed the hottest year on record. We’re pleased that the Labour Party has listened to our arguments, along with the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, and Plaid Cymru which have also ruled out any new coal mining…

Email your election candidate

Coal Action Network asked Who will stop coal? last weekend in Whitehaven, West Cumbria. At the site of the proposed coal mine, members of the local community and supporters gathered to ensure that the question of the mine is being put to election candidates. Now we need you to crank up the pressure and make sure all election candidates across the UK faces this question as they could decide the fate of the coal mine if elected…

Hearing date set for proposed West Cumbria Coal mine

The legal challenges against the government’s approval of a new coal mine off the coast of Cumbria will be heard in London on the 16th to 18th July.

Support local campaign group resist Bedwas coal mine

Mining company, ERI Ltd, is applying to mine nearly half a million tonnes of coal from two coal tips dumped in Caerphilly, South Wales by the same mining industry last time it operated in the area.

Bedwas coal tips: Key facts and impacts

Mining company, ERI Ltd, is applying to mine nearly half a million tonnes of coal from two coal tips dumped in Caerphilly, South Wales, by the mining industry last time it operated in the area. It’s vital we stop this shameless attempt to exploit the mess left behind by the mining industry to justify yet more mining. If the coal tip mining were to go ahead, it would…

Ffos-y-fran opencast coal mine quietly becomes a massive reservoir

Coal Action Network’s drone footage on Monday 11th March raised the alarm bell about the rising water levels. With this footage, a local resident informed Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council of the rising water levels, only to be told…

Global Week of Action: Putting Insurance Industry in the Hot Seat

The insurance industry found itself in the spotlight last week as a Global Week of Action blossomed across the world. From February 27th to March 3rd 2024, a wave of protests, both online and in the streets, swept through the doors of insurance giants, demanding accountability over their support for polluters and decisive action on climate change.

CONNECT WITH US

Share now:

3
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x