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Kellingley colliery, located at Knottingley, Yorkshire, is the largest remaining deep mine in Yorkshire. Exploratory boreholes sunk in the 1950s established up to seven workable seams of coal at the colliery. The Kellingley colliery began actual production in April 1965. Kellingley’s two main shafts are each almost 800 metres deep. The first shaft is used for the conveyance of men and materials and the second upcast shaft is used for the conveyance of mineral at the rate of up to 900 tonnes an hour, currently extracted from the Silkstone seam approximately 720 metres below ground. Kellingley supplies local power stations and also produces some housecoal quality coal (larger sized coals of higher calorific value for use on, for example, open fires and stoves).

The Group is currently mining faces in the Silkstone Seam which have proved to be problematic in both physical and environmental terms. Mining of the faces is expected to be completed by the end of 2009 with the new, and more favourable, Beeston Seam being accessed thereafter as a result of a £55 million investment programme undertaken by the Group. It is expected to extend the life of the mine until at least 2015. Further reserves are also expected to be accessible in the Silkstone Seam thereafter, which will extend the life of mine to 2019.