this is trying to compete with brazil, china etc. on there own playground of mass production of cheap dirty steel while having non of the advantages.
40 years after shutting them all down they realise it was a huge mistake to damage the nation’s energy security leaving us dependent on foreign powers. Well I never, if only they’d been warned at the time.
No doubt the Tories will try to play this up as part of their levelling up plan, like they are the Teeside freeport. It might be an environmental disaster and will almost certainly under-deliver, however it will not stop the Tories trying to use it as an example of how they care about the North.
A lot of people seem to not have read this article or any article about the mine before making comments so just to summarise why this mine is a bad idea not only environmentally but also economically:
1. The coal mined is NOT for power plants but for steelmaking and thus has no connection at all to energy security
2. British steelmakers have gone on record saying that they aren’t really interested in the Cumbrian coal because it has high sulphur content, making it hard to use in countries that care about minimising steelplant pollution (i.e. the UK & EU). In practice, most or even all of the coal will therefore be exported
3. This is an active investment into a dying technology. EU steelmakers are currently investing in new technologies to phase out the coal usage in steelmaking (e.g. through hydrogen usage) and industry experts seem to agree that for UK steelmaking to remain competitive, government should invest in similar technologies and facilitate the transition for UK based mills.
I lived around 100 metres from the old Marchon site – the new coal mine location.
I am from Whitehaven and my grandad was a coal miner at Haig pit (very close by).
The jobs are welcomed however what West Cumbria wants is new Nuclear. We are one of the only areas in the country who actively suppprt the nuclear industry on our doorstep and are on the energy coast. The Tories will be dumped at the next election because Johnson is no longer there. Brexit is over and now things can’t be blamed on Europe, eyes have been opened.
There is a lot of deprivation and poverty in this part of the UK if you dont have a job at Sellafield, new jobs are rarely turned away.
12 comments
I am sure the voters of Cumbria will still flock back to the Tories come next election.
It’s Cumberland not Cumbria.
It’s just asset stripping for their mates. They don’t give a fuck about anything beyond their personal wealth.
Yeah, let’s keep countries like China and Russia in charge of our industry. That’s been working out great so far.
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If we’re going to allow this, at least have a tax on it and use the money to start a sovereign wealth fund
Rather we used nasty coal mines in other countries. How horrible to see our own dirty fuel. Ugh.
>Mark Jenkinson, a local Tory MP backing the project, said there was “no way of making new steel without it”
that is just an outright lie https://www.hybritdevelopment.se/en/
this is trying to compete with brazil, china etc. on there own playground of mass production of cheap dirty steel while having non of the advantages.
40 years after shutting them all down they realise it was a huge mistake to damage the nation’s energy security leaving us dependent on foreign powers. Well I never, if only they’d been warned at the time.
No doubt the Tories will try to play this up as part of their levelling up plan, like they are the Teeside freeport. It might be an environmental disaster and will almost certainly under-deliver, however it will not stop the Tories trying to use it as an example of how they care about the North.
A lot of people seem to not have read this article or any article about the mine before making comments so just to summarise why this mine is a bad idea not only environmentally but also economically:
1. The coal mined is NOT for power plants but for steelmaking and thus has no connection at all to energy security
2. British steelmakers have gone on record saying that they aren’t really interested in the Cumbrian coal because it has high sulphur content, making it hard to use in countries that care about minimising steelplant pollution (i.e. the UK & EU). In practice, most or even all of the coal will therefore be exported
3. This is an active investment into a dying technology. EU steelmakers are currently investing in new technologies to phase out the coal usage in steelmaking (e.g. through hydrogen usage) and industry experts seem to agree that for UK steelmaking to remain competitive, government should invest in similar technologies and facilitate the transition for UK based mills.
I lived around 100 metres from the old Marchon site – the new coal mine location.
I am from Whitehaven and my grandad was a coal miner at Haig pit (very close by).
The jobs are welcomed however what West Cumbria wants is new Nuclear. We are one of the only areas in the country who actively suppprt the nuclear industry on our doorstep and are on the energy coast. The Tories will be dumped at the next election because Johnson is no longer there. Brexit is over and now things can’t be blamed on Europe, eyes have been opened.
There is a lot of deprivation and poverty in this part of the UK if you dont have a job at Sellafield, new jobs are rarely turned away.