Since 2014, the company carried out environmental and ecological surveys, alongside a programme of coal exploration, onshore and offshore, to prove the presence of high-quality coal for use in the steel industry.
West Cumbria Mining holds a series of licences which together cover an area of approximately 200km2 off the coast near Whitehaven. The brownfield project sits within the West Cumbrian Coalfield, in an area where mining has spanned many centuries, and is located adjacent to the former Haig Colliery.
Once construction of the mine is completed and Woodhouse Colliery moves into the operational phase, the company plans to extract and process around 2.5 million tonnes of metallurgical coal per year to supply into UK and European steel-making coal plants, which currently import around 45 million tonnes per annum from USA, Canada, Russia and Australia.
WCM anticipates that pre-construction work on site will start before the end of 2019, with coal production commencing around 24 months from the start of construction.
Mark Kirkbride, CEO of West Cumbria Mining, says: “Woodhouse Colliery will bring significant local benefits to Whitehaven, Copeland and Cumbria in terms of jobs and investment. I am proud to be part of something which will have such a positive impact on the local community and economy as well as the long-term financial benefits the mine will bring to the UK”.
“We now look forward to moving towards the construction of Woodhouse Colliery and harnessing the extensive mining history and knowledge in West Cumbria to operate a state-of-the-art mine, including the highest levels of health and safety and technology to ultimately realise our vision of becoming a leading European producer of high-quality metallurgical coal for steel making”.
The planning application was submitted in May 2017.