Maltby Colliery - Looking to the future

Maltby Colliery is one of only two remaining deep mines in the once huge Yorkshire coalfield. Employing around 500 people Maltby was threatened with closure after some poor results and bad geology in late 2006 but the North East based company “Hargreaves” made an offer to buy the ailing colliery from UK Coal to compliment its already rapidly expanding links within the power generation /Transport industry. After much negotiation with UK Coal and the mining unions the deal was done in February 2007.

Maltby Colliery has been a working mine since1908. Shaft sinking started in 1907 and production started in1911. This year 1.2 million tonnes of high quality coking/industrial power station coal is predicted, 60% of which is transported to nearby Drax power station.

In February Maltby Colliery signed a new 3 year deal with Drax. A further 25% of the mines output is used exclusively by Monkton Coke Works in Barnsley which is also owned by the Hargreaves group of companies.

Access to these reserves are by way of two vertical shafts of appprox 1000 metres in depth with skips capable of winding 1,500 tonnes of coal per hour to the surface.

Maltby Colliery has an exemplary safety record which together with renewed coal contracts makes for a good future for the mine and the 500 workforce who earn their living there.