uncertainty over uk coal
WORKERS, OCT 2005 ISSUE
UK Coal, after vigorously denying entering into takeover discussions with Alchemy Partners, now acknowledges that there will be tentative merger talks. In addition to Alchemy Partners, various US mining conglomerates are reputed to be buying a shareholding base in UK Coal.
The company has reported a trebling of pre-tax losses to £30.5 million. And with the usual madness of the Stock Market, the share price for UK Coal has risen as the vultures hover.
After mothballing Harworth, UK Coal has also decided to do the same to a second deep mine, Rossington, threatening a further 260 mining jobs. This comes at a time when both the price and demand for coal is rising — economic facts which seem to have passed UK Coal by.
The US-appointed Chief Executive of UK Coal is calling for greater productivity from Britain's miners, a little difficult when pits are being closed or mothballed. He wants productivity raised from 5-10 tonnes per miner per day to 20 tonnes in the first instance to reach a break even point, with a target of 50 tonnes per day — US Mining averages — to reach profitability. Profitability, though, is something he believes impossible due to the "regulatory and other" obstructions in Britain — probably a reference to the National Union of Mineworkers, which has fought consistently to preserve coalmining in this country.