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Case Histories |
British Coal Corporation, Eastwood Hall, Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, NG16 3EB, UK
The East Pennine Coalfield is the most important of all British Coal’s resources. Exploration and exploitation are closely related and studies of the coalfield’s past history, present development and future potential are relevant to the whole coal industry in the UK. At a local level the geology is often variable with uncertainty attached to reserves assessments. However, the overall development of the coalfield is substantially controlled by large-scale and easily determined geological features such as the size of the deposit, seam thickness and depth of cover. Studies on a coalfield scale can therefore contribute to assessments of the future of the coal industry.
The future production from this coalfield depends on both the size of the resource and on the proportion that can be recovered. Historical recovery data are discussed and some of the geological features of the deposit that affect coal recovery are reviewed.
Although the East Pennine Coalfield is at a mature stage of exploitation, with output from deep mines currently at about 540f its peak level in the 1950s and 1960s, the resource has not yet been fully developed, even after major investments at Selby and Asfordby. Recent exploration results from the undeveloped eastern margin of the coalfield are briefly reviewed.
