Key facts: Whitehaven coal mine

West Cumbria Mining Ltd want to extract 2.78 million tonnes of coking coal annually, right up to 2049.

Cumbria County Council approved the application; but campaigning, including a 114,000+ signature Coal Action Network petition, led government to make the decision itself and call a public inquiry. Subsequently the government approved the mine in December 2022, but the decision is subject to legal challenges. Work has not started and financing is not in place.

Coal & refuse to be excavated: 67 million tonnes in total – almost 3 million tonnes per annum (at full production) – WCM Planning Statement, Sep 2021

Coal to be sold: 64 million tonnes of coal in total – 2.78 million tonnes of coal per annum (at full production) – WCM Planning Statement, Sep 2021

CO2: Approximately 200 million tonnes of CO2 in total – 8.8 million tonnes of CO2 per annum at full production (2022 BEIS Conversion Factors)

Methane: 340,000 tonnes of methane which is 34 million tonnes CO2 equivalent (not included in the figures above) – 15,000 tonnes of methane per annum at full production (mid-range estimate, measured over 20 years, Global Energy Monitor’s Global Coal Mine Tracker)

Coal operator: West Cumbria Mining (Holdings) Limited, which is 82% owned by EMR Capital Investment Limited (No. 3B PTE Ltd) registered in Singapore.

Type: Coking (metallurgical) coal

Claimed destination: primarily burned in steelworks in the UK and Europe

Local Planning Authority: Cumbria County Council

Address: from the former Marchon site, Pow Beck Valley, to St. Bees Coast, Whitehaven, West Cumbria

Physical size: principal seams to be worked would be the Bannock Band and Main Band, which are at a depth of approximately 350 metres over 23ha

Time: applying for planning permission from 2022-2049