The Northumberland County Council has approved controversial plans by Banks Group to open a surface coal mine in Highthorn (northeast England, in the United Kingdom), skriver enerdata.com.
Banks Group aims to open the new mine in 2018 and to produce 3 Mt of coal over the expected 6-7-year life of the mine. The company considers that the project is viable as there is still demand from the British power and industrial sectors and that these new coal resources would help meet demand ahead of the expected closure of coal-fired power plants in 2025.
Til sammenligning produserte Svea Nord på Svalbard litt over 3 millioner tonn per år på det meste.
In 2015, the British coal demand stood at around 38 Mt (44% below its 2006 level) and domestic production only covered 22% (8.4 Mt), down from 2006 (18.5 Mt, i.e. 27% of domestic demand).