UK Coal Mine Dilemma Pits Energy Crisis Against Green Goals
The deep mine in northwest England would be the first to open in 30 years — if it ever gets the green light.
The site in Whitehaven, UK, where West Cumbria Mining is seeking approval to again extract coal.
Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
In the far northwest corner of England, coal mining was so finished that the local museum paying tribute to the industry shut a few years ago after running into financial trouble.
Yet at the dormant Haig Pit in Whitehaven, there are signs that an activity long considered dead wants to come back to life. Next to the mine shaft tower and red-brick building that housed the exhibit space is the office of West Cumbria Mining Ltd., which plans to open the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than three decades.