Banks Mining seek extension at Bradley
Company looking to extract additional 100,000 tonnes of coal to meet demand from UK industrial customers
BANKS Mining are set to put new plans forward to extract around 100,000 tonnes of high-quality coal for supply to UK industrial customers from land to the west of their Bradley surface mine, near Leadgate, in Co. Durham.
If the Co. Durham-headquartered firm is able to move the project forward through a positive local planning decision, it says it will be able to complete operational and restoration work there within the same timescale of August 2021 that the existing Bradley site is operating to.
Lewis Stokes, community relations manager at The Banks Group, said: ‘The Bradley site has been fully operational for more than six months and is working very well, and we remain committed to continuing to produce high-quality coal at Bradley in the safest, most efficient and most responsible way possible.’
The Bradley West extension would sustain the employment of the 41 people currently employed at Bradley, as well as additional investment in the local supply chain.
Banks Mining have also recently taken on five local apprentices at Bradley who are now progressing through a 12-month training programme and working towards achieving nationally recognized vocational qualifications.
Mr Stokes continued: ‘We’re living up to our promise to provide local employment, contract opportunities and revenues for community improvements through the Bradley site, as well as contributing positively to the UK’s balance of payments, and are committed to taking the same approach at the Bradley West site.
‘Being able to take the new project forward on the back of a local planning decision will mean we can complete work on the new coaling area within the same period as the existing site, and it makes clear sense to make efficient use of local mineral resources in this way rather than further increase our reliance on imports from distant locations.
‘We will ensure that the local community is kept up to date with progress on our plans through our Bradley community liaison panel and other channels, and hope to be able to move this scheme forward as quickly as we can.’
