O/T King coal rises again

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

Knock 20 years off me and I’d go back tomorrow if Silverwood was still open.

Why Brin?

Working conditions, camaraderie or pay rates?

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

There's coal at Thorne, put in mothballs for the future.

If that’s Thorne Doncaster it will never be mined again,

Thats the one mate, Thorne near Doncaster.

It floods ELK they could not control it,they tried always to make it work but closed it in 1956.Perhaps with modern day technology they could give it a go depending on money.

The flooding situation at pits, they once put a dye in the water at Bentley pit, came out at Manvers pit, a fair distance.

[great_fire]

It's funny now that the Tories are opening a mine and Labour are against it, and Doncaster Labour MP Ed Miliband is furious about it.

[Brin]

Why Brin?

Working conditions, camaraderie or pay rates?

Working conditions had vastly improved from the 60/70’s not that I succumbed to conditions back then. Camaraderie played a big part being underground, you knew your mates had your back especially in the close confines of heading work.

The pay- that had risen considerably but, and I must stress the fact, only because of miners before myself in the 70’s demanded and got what was rightly deserved for what was a demanding and sometimes dangerous job.

My Son left Maltby colliery approx 2010 and I asked him what wage I would have been on had I still worked there in the headings, he said with O/T some were coining 50k - 60k a year. I left in 92 on approx 25k. I didn’t do O/T like some. Sparkies and grease monkeys dwarfed my wage by some difference.

Unless you’ve worked underground you’ll never get it.

[caytonmiller]

If the miners had kept quiet in the 80s and not gone on strike the pits would still be here today. Bloody unions trying to get better pay. Pure greed.

[crashbang]

Yep miners leaving pit early, giving mates their tallies to hand in later. Theft from lockers. Some right idle barstewards.
But generally OK.

[Ericsladkilnhurst]

Big debate in the House of Lords regarding the opening of the new pit in Cumbria,
watching it early hours this morning.
They were saying 15% of the coking fuel would be used in the U/K, with the other
85% being exported.
But even the Tory side of the Lords were finding holes in the report, the lady
leading the bill for the opening of the pit had said she had not read the report yet.
She announced that the steel companies would use the coking coal, but one minister
put a hole in her argument, when he said that the coal that was being dug to make
coking coal, was found to have to much sulphur in it, so was not ideal.
The spokeswoman said there would be zero carbon emissions from the process, &
that Europe would buy the 85% not used by our steel industry.
I worked at the coal-prep washer, & know what goes into the process, even working
on the supply bunkers, which fed the coke ovens at Manvers, with different mixtures
of coal used to make coke.
I had to supply the coke-ovens what seams of coal were in each bunker, 30 bunkers
in total 24 holding 200 tonnes, 6 holding 195 tonnes, they then blended different
coal to make the coke.

* Took note a few Lords slept during the debate, they turned up for the money *

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

If the miners had kept quiet in the 80s and not gone on strike the pits would still be here today. Bloody unions trying to get better pay. Pure greed.

Maybe but the big mistake was going for an all out strike. The miners could have gone on strike area by area. Strike for a week, work for a week etc etc

Then they couldn't have been starved out.

But napoleon scargill wanted the opposite even though he was being paid