Daw Mill 'likely' to shut in 2014, says UK Coal

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UK Coal has warned that its Daw Mill mine in Warwickshire remains under threat.



The company said in March it was considering closing the pit, with the loss of 800 jobs.

The firm, which owes £138m and has a pension fund deficit of about £430m, has now said it is "unlikely" the mine will remain open after 2014.

Workers at the pit have recently rejected new shift patterns in a ballot, a spokesman for UK Coal said.

UK Coal chairman Jonson Cox said he felt discussion with workers would continue despite them rejecting the ballot.

"While the ballot at Daw Mill has been rejected I don't think that's the end of the matter," he said.

"I think there's probably a will at the mine to reconsider."

The company announced a restructuring plan on Friday to help secure its future.

It also said it had made losses of £20.6m in the six months to 30 June, with Daw Mill contributing to a 20% fall in production.

In March plans were announced to cut up to 200 jobs at Daw Mill to help reduce costs and regulate production to keep it open, the Union of Democratic Mineworkers said.

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Miners balloted in fresh bid to keep Daw Mill colliery open

A KEY ballot of miners at the last remaining pit in Warwickshire is to be held in a new bid to stave off its threatened closure by 2014 – and save more than 600 jobs.

The Union of Democratic Mineworkers and owners UK Coal have issued a joint statement confirming plans to introduce new shift patterns at Daw Mill and potentially save the region’s last colliery from the axe.

Workers have already rejected by a two-thirds majority initial plans to lengthen night shifts at Daw Mill, but a new round of talks has been launched to try to save the colliery, near Fillongley.

A joint UDM/UK Coal statement said: “A further consultation meeting has been held between Daw Mill management and the UDM with a view to resolving the issues associated with the future of the mine.

“During the meeting shift patterns were considered which would provide sufficient MAT (Machine Availability Time) that would help to support the continuation of the mine.

“Taking account of the feedback from the workforce, the focus was on patterns as close to the current start and finishing times as possible. It was concluded that new working arrangements could be considered but that before they are put forward, the whole picture would need to be developed and set out, including any other proposed changes before these are all put to a ballot at the mine.”

Dave Meuse, UDM branch secretary at Daw Mill, said the first ballot had been rejected due to fears that new shift changes would increase the working day for miners who already commuted long distances to Daw Mill.

He said: “The main change was on the night shift where, at the moment, we do nine and a half hours and they want to extend it to 11, so that they spend more time on the job.

“But we have got lads coming in from Mansfield and some from the Nottinghamshire border with Yorkshire, travelling an hour and a half each way.

“At the end of the day, the men will decide.

“There is still hope for Daw Mill, and where there is hope, we will keep trying.”

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Daw Mill coal mining may end after 'ferocious' fire



Mining is unlikely to resume after a ferocious underground fire at Warwickshire's last pit, UK Coal says.

More than 100 miners were evacuated from Daw Mill Colliery after the blaze broke out 1,770 ft (540m) below the surface on Friday afternoon.

Kevin McCullough of UK Coal said: "This fire is on a scale not seen for decades - the industry has seen nothing like it for between 30 and 50 years."

Daw Mill was due to close next year and its future is now in doubt.

UK Coal said it would take anything from three to six months to resume mining at Daw Mill because of the fire.

"Given it will now be closed for a number of months, the reality of us ever getting in there to mine commercially again is very very slim," said Mr McCullough.

The fire was caused by spontaneous combustion at an old coalface where salvage work was being carried out, said UK Coal.

'Unprecedented in scale'

Mr McCullough, the company's chief executive, said 96 miners were initially evacuated.

A team of 14 remained underground to try to bring the fire under control.

He said: "We deal with these fires regularly but this one was unprecedented in its scale and it became clear to keep the men underground was not the right thing to do and they were safely evacuated.

"The suddenness of the fire and its ferocity is something we train for and hope never to see, so the safe evacuation of over 100 miners is something the whole team can be proud of."

Mr McCullough said the fire was still burning on Monday morning, although it was showing signs of subsiding.

He said staff were able to work on the surface of the mine at Arley, near Coventry, but management teams were assessing the future of the site.

'Just speculation'

The Health and Safety Executive has begun an investigation into the incident.

Chris Kitchen, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, said all staff at the colliery were asked to go to work on Monday as normal.

Those without specific jobs were sent home for the day on full pay.

He said: "It could be 72 hours before the fire is put out.

"Talk of work not starting up in that part of the colliery for another three to six months is just speculation."

The colliery's closure could lead to the loss of about 800 jobs.

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Looks final...



source : BBC

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Daw Mill miners sacked by text

HUNDREDS of miners at Coventry and Warwickshire’s last pit learned they were to lose their jobs by text message.

The hasty message was sent to more than 600 workers late on Wednesday night, before UK Coal’s formal announcement yesterday that the pit would close.

It follows a devastating underground fire at the mine near Fillongley which has left it with no more workable coal.

Hardened coal miners were reduced to tears when the shutters finally came down on the pit.

There were emotional scenes at Daw Mill yesterday as workmates turned up to empty lockers and say their farewells.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Dave Meuse, who has worked at the colliery since leaving school 38-and-a-half years ago.

“There have been grown men openly crying. I’ve seen blokes who have been here as long as me walking out with just a small bag in their hands, carrying tools they are never likely to use again.”

Mr Meuse joins more than 600 colleagues who will now be made redundant following the announcement by UK Coal that an underground fire almost three weeks ago has brought about the end of production at Daw Mill.

“We did fear the worst because of the serious extent of the fire, which is still burning.

“All the coal-face equipment has gone and the shafts have been flooded, so it was fairly obvious that the pit would not re-open.

“Even so, the sudden closure has come as a devastating shock,” said Mr Meuse.

“We were given the news on Wednesday night by text message, which could, perhaps, have been done better. But the management explained that they wanted everyone to know before the statement was released to the media.”

As branch secretary of the Union of Democratic Mineworkers, Mr Meuse is now helping to negotiate redundancy terms for his 400 members.

He said: “Things are a little uncertain at the moment.

“The company is looking for financial support from the government to be able to make enhanced payments, which is what we are hoping for.

“Some men are being retained temporarily for the close-down operation and around 70 have been offered jobs at Thoresby Colliery in Nottinghamshire. But otherwise, that’s it for the rest of us; the end of the line.”

Mr Meuse lives in Nuneaton with his wife and son – and, ironically, faces the dole 45 years after his father became the first miner in Warwickshire to be made compulsorily redundant.

“He worked at Arley pit and when that closed he could not be transferred elsewhere because he was over 55. Coal mining is in my blood and it is so sad to see the way the industry has declined.”

Gary Butler, from Polesworth, has also spent all his working life – nearly 25 years – at Daw Mill.

He said: “It’s the only job I’ve ever done and I really don’t know what the future will bring, although I am trying to remain positive.”

Mr Butler, 47, was one of the 106 miners evacuated when the fire broke out, 740 metres below the surface, on February 22.

“The emergency procedure kicked in and everyone got out okay,” he said.

“We all knew then what the final outcome would be. It’s a shame this has all happened just when production was beginning to pick up.”

Andy Frith, 44, has travelled to Daw Mill from his home in Whitwick in Leicestershire since 1997 and says he is disgusted at the way he was told he had lost his job.

“It was common knowledge that the pit was finished but to get the news by text was terrible. I am not at all happy with the way we have been treated by the company.

“I have a wife and daughter to support and it’s now a question of waiting to see what sort of redundancy package will be offered. I have also been for an interview at Thoresby Colliery but have not heard anything.”

Engineer Steve Mears was a 15-year-old Nuneaton school leaver when he started work at Daw Mill 33 years ago and is one of the few being kept on, while the shafts are permanently sealed and the site is cleared.

“Hopefully, I will have a few months more work to take me towards my pension,” he said.

“We don’t know how long it will take for the fire to burn itself out but it has left the pit with no more workable coal.

“We knew the fire was a very serious one but the closure announcement still caught everyone off guard.”

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Daw Mill colliery: Plans for business park on site



Plans to turn a former coal mine in Warwickshire into a business park have been submitted by developers.

Daw Mill Colliery, near Nuneaton, closed in March 2013 with the loss of 650 jobs following an underground fire. Site demolition began in November.

Owners Howarth Estates have sent plans for warehouses and office units to North Warwickshire Borough Council. It claims 1,400 jobs could be created.

People living nearby have said they are worried about increased traffic.

Ross Jones, who lives a mile away in Over Whitacre, is opposed to the plans.

He said: "We have a road network here made up of all countryside B-roads which are just incapable of dealing with the amount of heavy goods vehicles that will be generated by this operation."

Ian Thompson from Howarth Estates said it had held an "extensive consultation" into the future of the site which included a traffic study.

"We will work with Warwickshire County Council, as the highways authority, on junction improvements...but this site is also rail connected and we are encouraging use of that."

The firm said some existing colliery buildings would be retained and a memorial garden would be built to remember miners who had died.