| Hatfield Colliery | |
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Hatfield Colliery |
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| Location | |
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Hatfield Colliery
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| Location | Stainforth, DN7 5TZ |
| Unitary authority | Doncaster, South Yorkshire |
| Country | England |
| Owner | |
| Company | Powerfuel |
| Year of acquisition | 2001 |
| Production | |
| Products | Coal |
| History | |
| Opened | 2007 |
Hatfield Colliery also known as Hatfield Main Colliery is a recently re-opened colliery in the Doncaster unitary authority, and historically part of South Yorkshire. It is next to the Doncaster-Goole railway, just east of Hatfield and Stainforth railway station. It is in the South Yorkshire Coalfield.
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In December 1910 the Hatfield Main Colliery Company was formed by Emerson Bainbridge. On 11 September 1916 the first main shaft was completed, followed on 1 April 1917 by the second shaft.
In January 1927 it was bought by the Carlton Main Colliery Company. In January 1947 it became part of the National Coal Board. In 1967 the Hatfield and Thorne collieries were merged, becoming separate again in February 1978. They were merged again on 1 February 1986. On 18 November 1993, a time of many pit closures, it was announced the combined pit would close, which took place on 3 December 1993, when under ownership of British Coal.
On 4 January 1994, a team from the pit's management announced they wanted to re-open the pit, forming Hatfield Coal Company Ltd on 25 January 1994. The first coal was dug on 7 July 1994. In its first year of operation the company made a profit of £2.4 million. On 9 August 2001 the company went into receivership. The firm employed around 200 people.
The colliery played a starring role in the moving bitter-sweet 1996 film comedy Brassed Off based on the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, filmed in 1995. The colliery does have its own brass band.
In October 2001, Richard Budge, former owner of RJB Mining, took control of the pit, under ownership of his company Coalpower. Coalpower went into administration in December 2003,[1] then liquidation on 22 April 2004.
In 2006 Richard Budge formed his Powerfuel company, who own the mine. Powerfuel is 51% owned by Kuzbassrazrezugol (KRU) for which it paid £36m. Powerfuel is a member of the Confederation of UK Coal Producers.
The pit historically dug from the High Hazel coal seam.
From February 2004 no production[2] took place at the pit until April 2007.
A clean coal power station is planned for the pit, and again owned by Richard Budge. It is most significantly being built to prove it can be done. It has yet to be tried on a commercial scale, with only a small test plant operating in Germany. In August 2003, Coalpower first announced £300 million plans for a 430MW IGCC plant.[3]
The 900MW power station is expected to be constructed in 2010 with completion in 2015. It will use Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, by pumping the carbon dioxide gas into depleted North Sea hydrocarbon fields.