Banks Mining said it was looking to new opportunities after deciding not to appeal against the refusal for its planned open cast coal mine at Dewley Hill, near Throckley on the border of Newcastle and Northumberland.
Newcastle City Council rejected the proposals last year over environmental concerns.
The Northern Echo reported that the skills of Banks’ miners would be used in other opportunities and that the company had “some exciting prospects in place” which they expected to “come to fruition in the coming months.”
The joint application from Banks and Ibstock Brick was for a new surface coal and fireclay mine involving the extraction of 800,000 tonnes of coal, mainly for industrial purposes such as steel and cement production.
Some 400,000 tonnes of fireclay would have also been mined to manufacture bricks at Ibstock’s brickworks at Throckley.
Banks Mining is part of the family-owned The Banks Group established in 1976 and based in County Durham.
The group operates across the north of England and Scotland and encompasses surface coal mining, property and renewable energy.