The British government approved the construction of a new coal mine, despite the protests of environmentalists

The UK government gave the go-ahead for construction of the UK's first new coal mine in 30 years late on December 7 amid strong environmental opposition that could derail the project without a launch date being announced.

West Cumbria Mining's Whitehouse Mine project at Whitehaven in the North West of the UK with an expected capacity of 3.1 Mt to produce coking coal for steelmaking has been under development since 2014. It was originally approved by the Minister for Communities and Local Government in early 2021 and has been working on sustainability plans and licensing since then.

The WCM said on December 8 that it was "delighted" by the Secretary of State's decision to formally approve the planning application for the Woodhouse Colliery.

"The project can now move forward to build the world's first zero-emission mine supplying the critical steel industry with a high-quality metallurgical coal product," WCM said in a statement.

The new project is adjacent to Cumbrian's last deep coal mine, the Haig Colliery, which closed in 1986. A century ago, the UK was a major producer of coal, but production has declined as deindustrialization and globalization have made it harder to achieve economies of scale. S&P Global Commodity Insights' Platts valuation of premium low-bat coking coal was flat at $249.50/tonne FOB Australia and CFR China was valued at $2/tonne to $315 US per tonne CFR China 8 December.

The new mine, located underground in a derelict site, is expected to produce an average of 2.5 million tons of coal per year, and extract and process up to 3.1 million tons of coal per year over the 40-year life of the mine, according to previously received information. issued by WCM. The coal is high quality high volatile coking coal (HV HCC). It has less than 4% ash, less than 0.001% phosphorus, and an extremely high fluidity of 30,000 dppm, the miner said.

The product will be processed in a new preparation plant and then transported via an underground conveyor a distance of 2.2 km (1.4 miles) to the train loading point for rail transport via the existing link to the Redcar Bulk Terminal on the UK East Coast. According to the company, this is a deep water port that can receive Panamax type vessels all year round for further distribution. Initial investment in the mine project was estimated at approximately $224 million.