Breaking: Welsh colliery gets OK to mine 40 million tonnes
The UK Coal Authority has granted a licence to the Aberpergwm colliery in Wales to mine high-grade Anthracite coal for Tata Steel in Port Talbot.
The UK is the only supplier in Western Europe of the high and ultra-high grade Anthracite used in steel-making, so this will greatly benefit the UK steel industry.
The BBC didn’t see it like that of course, and posted an article I reproduce below:
A Green Party MP has said it is “shameful” that a colliery in south Wales has been given permission to mine a further 40 million tonnes of coal.
Caroline Lucas said fossil fuels must be left in the ground.
The UK government, which oversees the Coal Authority which is responsible for licensing mines, said it had greatly reduced the country’s reliance on coal.
Energybuild said most of its coal was not burned for energy, but used in processes including water purification.
Welsh ministers wanted the UK government to cancel the licence for Aberpergwm mine, near Glynneath in Neath Port Talbot.
But it said on Wednesday evening it was committed to working with the company on business models that were sustainable.
The colliery is the only producer of high-grade anthracite in Western Europe and supplies nearby Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot.
Energybuild said it provided 160 well-paid jobs in the area, plus 16 apprenticeships.
Managing director Rhidian Davies said last year that his products were “in significant demand to support the transition to a sustainable green economy”.
He added that Energybuild brought “more than £100m of investment” into the area.
The firm was unable to comment on Wednesday until getting formal notification from the Coal Authority, whose website said an application for a full underground licence had been approved.
In November, Welsh Labour deputy climate change minister Lee Waters urged the UK government to stop “40 million tonnes of coal” being extracted over the next 18 years.
His comments prompted a row between Westminster and Cardiff over who was ultimately responsible.
Ms Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “It is unbelievable and utterly shameful, especially when the UK still retains the presidency of UN climate change body COP.
“It’s made worse by the farcical dispute between the UK and Welsh governments over who has the power to cancel the licence.”
She said if the aim to keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C was to be kept alive, “fossil fuels must be left in the ground. Yet we’re about to see more coal being dug up in our own backyard”.
She added: “It’s hard to think of a more retrograde and damaging step, and one that completely undermines any climate diplomacy that Alok Sharma will be conducting in future months.”
The UK government said it was the Coal Authority – not ministers – that was responsible for licensing coal mines.
A spokesman added:
“We have taken massive steps to reduce our reliance on coal in recent years. Coal now accounts for less than two percent of our energy supply and will be phased out entirely by 2024.”
Aberpergwm was originally granted a licence to mine coal before licensing powers were handed to the Welsh government.
The mine operators had applied to the Coal Authority for formal recognition that the conditions attached to their original licence have been fulfilled.
The Coal Authority website now says it has approved an application made in 2020 for a “full underground licence”.
The Welsh government said:
“We have been clear that we do not support the extraction of fossil fuels and are focused on the climate emergency. As the original licence was issued before powers in relation to coal licences were devolved, Welsh ministers are not able to intervene in the licensing process and appropriately apply Welsh policy.”
People like Caroline Lucas and Lee Waters seem to have no idea that if we stop extracting Anthracite we will have to import it, which will create more of the ‘carbon emissions’ they are so frightened of, or close the UK steel industry altogether. That would mean no construction involving steel….unless it was imported.
You have to wonder if that is their ultimate aim; to stop construction here entirely.
The Gridwatch website, which records how much electricity is generated in the UK from all sources, is currently showing coal power stations are producing 1.4 gigawatts.
See the BBC article here: bbc.co.uk
Header image: BBC
About the author: Andy Rowlands is a university graduate in space science and British Principia Scientific International researcher, writer and editor who co-edited the new climate science book, ‘The Sky Dragon Slayers: Victory Lap‘
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spoonful
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“and if the aim to keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C was to be kept alive, fossil fuels must be left in the ground. Yet we’re about to see more coal being dug up in our own backyard.” Sounds like she’s saying “we must act out this childish tantrum if our charade is gong to be believed . . .”
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Andy
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That’s pretty much it Mr Spoon.
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itsme
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Gas is the ‘new green’
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coronistan.blogspot.com
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evil climate sinner…
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Artelia
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Many may not know that ANTHRACITE is a superior form of coal which burns clean. It only emits CO2. It is cleaner even than gas. It burns very hot and clean. When it is burned, it needs a strong draft and it burns well in boilers as opposed to open fires.
Steel making requires HEAT and the anthracite is excellent for this purpose.
The drawback with anthracite is that it is difficult to light.
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Protestant
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The appalling Globalist truth about this seeming good news for Wales and the Welsh mining industry is that the colliery was bought out by Indian Sikhs: Manohar Singh Grewal, Manjit Singh Randhawa & Amarprit Singh Randhawa, all registered at the same Buckinghamshire office as the Welsh founder. The real beneficiaries of this deal are the Upper Caste Sikhs controlling this Welsh mine, and the Upper Caste Indian billionaire Ratan Tata who was treasonously allowed by the British government to buy the entire national company formerly named “British Steel”, changed its name to “Tata Steel”, copied its technology to build replica plants in India, forced British staff to train them to do their own jobs in Britain, then declared he was shutting down British production “because of China”.
Alas for Wales and Welsh mining. Alas for England, Alas for the British Isles, quietly being handed over to India & Pakistan, while the media shriek about imaginary threats from Russia & China, India’s ancient enemy. How many Russians or Chinese are in top positions in the British government and society? And how many Indians & Pakistanis? Gosh, what a difference in numbers, eh?
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Michael Castleblack
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Manwhore Grewal, Manjizz Randhawa and Armpit Randhawa will not stand a chance against a million freezing Welsh and British citizens. The Elitists and Rich will come to understand that their wealth is nothing more than +plus or -minus digital charges on silicon chips. The desire for Liberty and Freedom of Choice is an inherent aspect of Human psychology that can be subdued but never eliminated. We will fight to the death against the Dominance of the Wicked!!!
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Michael Castleblack
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I do hope that Caroline Lucas is better at eating cock (roaches) that she is at keeping warm because she is about to loose 50 lbs from shivering. Let’s see if she refuses a load of coal 10 yrs from now. Of course, the frozen underclass masses may well require her head to compensate for their misery! An English tradition that Soros didn’t tell her about…
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Michael Castleblack
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Modern Grand Solar Minimum or just ‘Grand Solar Minimum’. Look it up and prepare yourself. Climate Change is real, except that the standard message of an overheated Earth are drastically wrong. As the Carbon War intensifies and the petro-energy generation and distribution are transfered to the historically unreliable renewable-energy market, we will all suffer from colder temperatures, immobilization (e-vehicles still need power, albeit electric) and hunger (warmer temps = bountiful harvests & comfort whereas colder temps = lesser harvests, discomfort & starvation. The Laws of Physics in action!! The Communist Progressives will not be able to change the Sun’s energy output for the better, nor would they! According to the first law of thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy,; electricity can not be created or destroyed; energy can only be converted from one form to another. Windmills will never replace Petroleum, nor according to the first law of thermodynamics, also known as the Law of Conservation of Energy, can electricity be created or destroyed; energy can only be moved or converted from one form to another form. It will never be free. Totalitarianism/Authoritarianism requires Servitude (misery) of the Citizenry in order to survive, although a rotten carrot on a stick (today’s energy needs) does not offer much for the starving and freezing masses that will follow and demanding satisfaction. The oncoming climate change of the fast approaching Modern Grand Solar Minimum will be devastating to the political and social structure of the current Social-Economic-Political world.
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T. C. Clark
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You load 16 tonnes and what do you get…another day older and deeper in debt….but it’s better than freezin’ to death.
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