A licence for the opencast coal mine in the Dulais Valley, Wales has for the first time been refused by the Welsh Government for the first time because of climate change.
Celtic Energy, owner of the 850-acre site in Nant Helen, said it was shocked by the decision. The company employs 110 people, with 50 working at the nearby washery.
Work at the site would have “environmental and climate change impacts” a Welsh Government spokeswoman said.
The site in the village of Coelbren, on the border of Neath Port Talbot and Powys, includes the adjacent Onllwyn washery and distribution centre which serves Nant Helen.
Celtic Energy said a significant number of employees would be needed to restore the area, which is due to be the location for a train testing centre announced by the Welsh Government.
Officials at the Coal Authority issued a licence to the company valid until 31 December 2021 and Powys County Council had granted planning permission. However Environment Minister Lesley Griffiths’ decision on June 11 signals an end to mining at the site.
Nant Helen coal mine is one of Celtic Energy’s largest operational sites and has about three million tonnes of coal reserves.
It was first granted permission in 1998 and by 2016 but a fall in demand saw the pit mothballed later in the same year.
The company received permission in March 2019 to restart mining. The site was being mined by shovel and truck methods using a fleet of modern 100 tonne capacity dump trucks and hydraulic excavators of up to fifteen cubic metre bucket capacity, supplemented by bulldozers, graders, drilling rigs and other support equipment.