Banks Mining start work on Spireslack restoration
Restoration operation gets under way at abandoned surface coal mine in East Ayrshire
WORK on the restoration of the long-derelict Spireslack surface coal mine, in East Ayrshire, has commenced following recent successful restoration work by Banks Mining at a nearby site.
The latest scheme will be carried out by the same 15-strong team that has been working on the adjacent Ponesk surface coal mine, where work to replace soil is now due to be completed in April 2018 – when the worst of the winter weather is over.
The Spireslack site, near the town of Muirkirk, was abandoned when its former operators, Scottish Coal, went into administration in 2013, leaving a significant blot on the landscape, including a 1km long void, large overburden mounds and numerous other areas of dereliction.
Professor Russel Griggs OBE, chairman of the Scottish Mines Restoration Trust (SMRT), which will be working alongside Banks Mining on the new project, said: ‘We’re pleased to be moving forward with Banks Mining as work begins on the restoration of the Spireslack site.
‘Our partnership will help to bring the site back into viable use by the surrounding communities and we’re looking forward to seeing how the landscape changes and develops over the next few months.’
Jim Donnelly, operations director at Banks Mining, said: ‘I grew up around here and spent the early part of my career working on sites in the Muirkirk area, so it saddened me when Spireslack was abandoned and left unrestored following Scottish Coal’s demise.
‘It’s great, therefore, that our local team of skilled operators at Ponesk will be able to continue their employment with us and transfer smoothly across to the Spireslack site. The work will help put the land back to productive and safe use, and make it much more in keeping with the surrounding landscape.
‘We’re confident that our experience and technical expertise will improve the current situation at Spireslack, in the same way we have transformed the former surface mine at Ponesk through the restoration works we have carried out there.’
The work at Spireslack will benefit the local community, making the area safer through the removal of a number of near vertical faces and regrading of the existing spoil mounds to create less steep sided hills, as well as sustaining local jobs and providing opportunities for local firms to bid for works associated with the main restoration work.
The Banks Mining team is expected to be on site until the summer of 2018, with the restoration scheme designed to maximize opportunities for the future use of the site.
