Pentremawr Colliery
Encyclopedia
Pentremawr Colliery was a coal mine, located in the Gwendraeth valley in Carmarthenshire
, South Wales
.
Due to the angle and depth of the anthracite in this part of Wales, Pentremawr was a slant mine
, and hence access and extraction of the coal did not need a shaft
. However, the commercial extraction of coal is limited by geological faults in the area.
The first two attempts were aborted in 1870, after a huge fault was encountered. But eventually three slants known as Capel Ifan No's 1, 2 and 3 were opened to the Gwendraeth, Braslyd, Gras and Trichwart seams. By 1896, there were 160 men working at the colliery, and it was during this time of operation that Colliery Chief Mechanic Jones Jones (1879–1976), invented the renowned Pontyberem safety lamp.
In 1913, a fourth slant was driven to work the Pumquart seam, and resultantly by 1923 there were 956 men working at the colliery. In 1927, Pentremawr Colliery Company Ltd. was absorbed into the Amalgamated Anthracite Combine, with records showing that 1,007 men employed. The company ploughed in money to fix problems associated with the initial local geological fault, resulting in the discovery of the 8 feet (2.4 m) Big Vein seam in 1939. Post World War II
, in 1956 900 men produced 226,273 tons.
Due to the geological faults in the area, the mine was susceptible to incursion from methane gas. Two miners were killed from explosions caused by methane gas and coal dust explosions in 1945, and one in 1965. But on 1 September 1966, Pentremawr was the site of the largest outburst of methane and fine coal dust in the UK, when 1,000 tons of coal dust erupted from the Big Vein: no one was killed on that occasion. However, on 6 April 1971, six men were killed and 69 others suffered varying degrees of asphyxia
.
Developing geological problems brought about the closure of the No.4 Pumquart slant in 1968. In 1974, the National Coal Board
amalgamated Pentremawr with the Cynheidre Colliery
, which itself closed in 1989.
and AM Helen Mary Jones
, the scheme is presently subject to planning permission.
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
.
Due to the angle and depth of the anthracite in this part of Wales, Pentremawr was a slant mine
Drift mining
Drift mining is either the mining of a placer deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. Drift is a more general mining term, meaning a near-horizontal passageway in a mine, following the bed or vein of ore. A...
, and hence access and extraction of the coal did not need a shaft
Shaft mining
Shaft mining or shaft sinking refers to the method of excavating a vertical or near-vertical tunnel from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom....
. However, the commercial extraction of coal is limited by geological faults in the area.
The first two attempts were aborted in 1870, after a huge fault was encountered. But eventually three slants known as Capel Ifan No's 1, 2 and 3 were opened to the Gwendraeth, Braslyd, Gras and Trichwart seams. By 1896, there were 160 men working at the colliery, and it was during this time of operation that Colliery Chief Mechanic Jones Jones (1879–1976), invented the renowned Pontyberem safety lamp.
In 1913, a fourth slant was driven to work the Pumquart seam, and resultantly by 1923 there were 956 men working at the colliery. In 1927, Pentremawr Colliery Company Ltd. was absorbed into the Amalgamated Anthracite Combine, with records showing that 1,007 men employed. The company ploughed in money to fix problems associated with the initial local geological fault, resulting in the discovery of the 8 feet (2.4 m) Big Vein seam in 1939. Post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1956 900 men produced 226,273 tons.
Due to the geological faults in the area, the mine was susceptible to incursion from methane gas. Two miners were killed from explosions caused by methane gas and coal dust explosions in 1945, and one in 1965. But on 1 September 1966, Pentremawr was the site of the largest outburst of methane and fine coal dust in the UK, when 1,000 tons of coal dust erupted from the Big Vein: no one was killed on that occasion. However, on 6 April 1971, six men were killed and 69 others suffered varying degrees of asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
.
Developing geological problems brought about the closure of the No.4 Pumquart slant in 1968. In 1974, the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
amalgamated Pentremawr with the Cynheidre Colliery
Cynheidre Colliery
Cynheidre Colliery was a coal mine located in the Gwendraeth valley, in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Opened in 1954, it closed in 1989.Cynheidre was a new "super-pit" developed post-World War II by the newly nationalised National Coal Board...
, which itself closed in 1989.
Proposed opencast development
In 2009, Draeth Developments proposed developing the site of Pentremawr to extract 300,000 tonnes of coal via an opencast mining development. Opposed by local residents and Llanelli MP Nia GriffithNia Griffith
Nia Rhiannon Griffith is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Llanelli since 2005.-Background:...
and AM Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones is a Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2011.-Background:...
, the scheme is presently subject to planning permission.