Our History
Prior to December 1994 when UK COAL (then trading as RJB Mining) acquired the English coalfield assets in the privatisation of State-owned British Coal, the company was the biggest independent mining operator in the UK. It remains so today.
The acquisition of British Coal's core mining activities for £815 million increased the size of the company, which had been established since 1974, more than five-fold. It re-opened four collieries and has since invested over £1,000 million in opening up new reserves and in new plant and machinery.
With its headquarters at Harworth near Doncaster, UK COAL today has an annual turnover in excess of £341 million. As well as employing 3,500 people directly in the management, production, sale and distribution of coal and smokeless fuels, UK COAL supports thousands more jobs in businesses involved in the supply of equipment, goods and services.
Around half of all the coal mined in the UK is produced by UK COAL at collieries or surface mine sites principally located in the West and East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East.
Most of the coal mined in the UK is used for the generation of electricity. In 2006, UK power stations consumed some 52 million tonnes, resulting in coal generating about one-third of Britain's electricity.
Of that 52 million tonnes, UK COAL supplied around 9 million tonnes, the remainder being supplied by other UK producers and imports.
Coal is also used in industry - from breweries to hospitals - and in the home. In 2006, UK COAL supplied 0.85 million tonnes for consumption in those markets.
Coal is also supplied as a feed-stock to other smokeless fuel manufacturers and distributors.