1994 - Page 35
The Coal Authority
The Coal Authority was set up at Berry Hill, Mansfield, in September 1994 with Sir David White as Chairman, to come into operation from 31st October 1994.
It is a non-departmental Public body whose function includes licensing coal-mining operations, granting leases to mine coal, pump water, mining reports, and other duties such as settling subsidence damage claims not falling on coal mining operators, provide information relating to geological data and all coal mining plans held etc would be administered here.
British Coal sold off most of its assets and was to wind up. A closing date for such operations was projected for 2005 under the auspices of the Department of Trade and Industry. Chief Surveyor and Minerals Manager, Keith Leighfield (ex South Wales Chief Surveyor).
Abandoned Mine Plans
The collection of abandoned mine plans, reports and other records are kept in the Mining Records department under the auspices of a qualified surveyor. Additionally as time went on a collection of photographs from all sources (45,000 in 2006) complemented the 70,000 plus mine plans (aiming for a minimum of 100,000 original copies scanned and reproduced on a computer screen, in colour, where original is in colour) available for public and any interested company. Measurements can be obtained using the computer of any plan, even from the very many different scales of plans scanned. Copies of plans can be obtained in colour or black and white. The computer system allows numerous screens to be used simultaneously to access this information.
The National Register of Archives Records office is adjacent to the Mining Records Office.
Lound Hall Training Centre Closed
On 19th August 1994 British Coal Training Scheme finished and the official closure of Lound Hall Training Centre Nottinghamshire was on 30th September. (The South Nottinghamshire Area Training staff based at Moorgreen had been transferred to Lound Hall at the amalgamation in 1985 and an outstation for Central Area was continued at the Grassmoor Training Centre in Derbyshire).
Sale of Compower
Also in August the sale of Compower and British Information Technology (BCIT) to Philips Communications and Processing Services was completed. 350 employees were transferred.
Rufford Headgears
The No2 and No3 tower headgears at Rufford (Nottinghamshire) were demolished on 3rd September 1994.
Photos From Darren Haywood
Ratcliffe Power Station
Ratcliffe power station was accepting 70,000 tonnes of coal per week from Thoresby and Welbeck plus some Opencast coal.
Landfill Site Gas
Methane gas extracted from a landfill site at Huthwaite Road, Sutton-in-Ashfield began to be used to power 3 gas-powered generators to supply 1.5mw of electricity to the National Grid from 6th September 1994. This site was the second to generate energy and cost £1.25m and 3 others are planned. Although a marvellous idea and very practical, as the gas otherwise would just exhaust into the atmosphere, it would be another source of fuel to dispense with the use of coal.
Inventor Of The Shearer Died
James Anderton OBE died aged 89. He was Director in North West Area and the inventor of the Anderton shearer cutter-loader when Agent and Manager at Clock Face colliery. These machines or variations were used at practically every colliery in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire and most other Areas of the country from the mid 1950s enabling many millions of tonnes of coal to be cut and loaded onto panzers then conveyors, replacing the old ways of pick and shovel work loading into tubs or onto a rubber belt conveyor. The earlier fixed drum machine was single-ended floor-mounted, cutting one way and ploughing back the other and hauled by steel rope. Later machines were panzer-mounted and hauled by chain, then double-ended ranging drums. Later still the machines were driven by a varity of ways such as pin-wheel, star-track, rackatrack etc and the use of spiral drums for better deliverery of the cut coal onto the panzer (armoured face conveyor) and larger more powerful engines at a higher rated electrical force.
NACODS
- General Secretary: Peter McNestry
- General Secretary Midlands: Ray Hilton
- NUM President: Arthur Scargill
- Midlands Area Secretary: J Wills
- Derbyshire Area Secretary: Gordon Butler
- UDM President: Neil Greatrex
- General Secretary and Vice President: Mick Stevens.
Pleasley Shafts Capped
Pleasley (Derbyshire) both old abandoned shafts were capped in November 1994.
RJB Mining
On 12th October 1994 the Government (Cons) named RJB (Mining) as the preferred bidder for the remaining pits in the English Coalfields. |
