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250:. The first coal left the mine by train in 1991 and geological problems meant production had ceased by 1997. British Coal invested over £300 million in the pit and after privatisation in 1994, a further £40 million was invested. At its peak, the mine employed 490 personnel. When the closure notice came in, it was partially lamented locally, but it was commented upon by the miners themselves as well as the locals, that the blow would not be felt in the same way as traditional pit villages as most of the men who worked in the pit were from outside the
242:, but eventually only Asfordby was sunk. Objections to the minesites locations because of the natural beauty and rurality in those areas led to only Asfordby being started as it was already in an industrial area with a rail connection very close by. Preparatory work began on the mine in 1984, but physical building did not start until 1987, with coaling operations beginning in 1991. Two shafts over 1,500 feet (460 m) deep were dug into the coal seams. In 1994,
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worth of equipment and the mine was closed leaving behind a possible 500,000,000 tonnes (454,000,000 tons) of mineable coal. The
Confederation of UK Coal Producers (COLPRO) wrote to the government to complain as they had authorised a new gas-fired power station and COLPRO and the NUM were fearful that the new
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The mine was closed due to volcanic sills that sat above the coal seams. The volcanic rocks were heavier than expected and had been putting too much pressure on the excavated coal seams below. Just before the closure was announced in August 1997, a massive flood and rockfall destroyed £6 million
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The two winding towers were demolished in 1998 and permission was granted to turn the complex into a business park. In 2007, part of the complex was installed with a test centre for trains that would utilise the adjacent 14-mile (23 km) test track from which a spur had been built to connect to
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Asfordby mine project was one of the country's biggest-ever state-led 'misjudgements'. The former
British Coal and the UK government, between them, squandered massive sums of public money on what must have been the least successful coal mine ever conceived. As a final 'fling' for the 20th century
226:, England. It was the last deep coal mine to be sunk in England in 1987 and was expected to coal for many years, but closed within a few years with geological problems being cited as the issue. It has been described as 'the least successful coal mine ever conceived'.
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447:"Fears mount of fatal squeeze on coal Body blow leaves a diaspora of the dispossessed as industrial landmark is erased for ever from the Leicestershire countryside"
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Milne, Seamus; Beavis, Simon (19 August 1997). "Fears mount of fatal squeeze on coal From superpit to scrapheap: what lies behind the closure plan".
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the mine. Suggestions for re-use of the site have included siting a wind farm on it and also the prospect of an anaerobic digestion plant.
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Out of ashes?: the social impact of industrial contraction and regeneration on
Britain's mining communities
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Weiss, Martin; Leafe, Tom (2009). "£400-million-plus folly of
British Coal's new Melton Mowbray mine".
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area and had taken the jobs at
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371:"Asfordby Mine, Leicestershire | Educational Images | Historic England"
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Waddington, David; Critcher, Chas; Dicks, Bella; Parry, David (2001).
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Milne, Seamus; Beavis, Simon; Hetherington, Peter (19 August 1997).
526:"Fears mount of fatal squeeze on coal Asfordby 'superpit' shutdown"
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was wound up and the
Asfordby site was purchased by
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323:. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 124.
593:"Organic waste plant for Asfordby mine site?"
424:. London: The Stationery Office. p. 20.
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262:would not support retaining Asfordby mine.
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346:"New model miners go quiet over superpit"
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18:Mine in Asfordby, Leicestershire, England
274:coal industry Asfordby remains a puzzle.
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553:Coal Mines Remembered
267:Coal Mines Remembered
499:"LIFE AFTER THE PIT"
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204:Asfordby super-pit
115:52.7742°N 0.9257°W
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599:. 8 February 2011
473:"BBC Politics 97"
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118: /
94:Coordinates
631:Categories
288:References
248:RJB Mining
236:Super-pits
218:, near to
192:RJB Mining
131:Production
103:52°46′27″N
538:245155329
459:245154139
321:King Coal
212:coal mine
106:0°55′33″W
534:ProQuest
455:ProQuest
216:Asfordby
210:) was a
136:Products
70:Asfordby
66:Location
27:Location
577:18 July
509:18 July
483:18 July
380:18 July
355:18 July
230:History
184:Company
169: (
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144:History
89:England
86:Country
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479:. 1997
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164:Closed
149:Opened
76:County
571:Metro
179:Owner
605:2018
579:2018
511:2018
485:2018
426:ISBN
401:ISBN
382:2018
357:2018
325:ISBN
206:and
171:1997
167:1997
156:1991
152:1991
139:Coal
222:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
