Thoresby Colliery

Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire

Background

The village of Edwinstowe lies within the county of Nottinghamshire, and here is where Thoresby Colliery is located. In 1925 two shafts were sunk to a depth of 690m. This gave access to several seams, many of which have been exploited throughout the colliery's productive life, though at present only the Parkgate seam is being worked.. In the early 50's, the shafts were deepened a further 109 metres to the current pit bottom. Developments in the Parkgate began in 1977 and after the closure of Ollerton Colliery, the Parkgate reserves there were allocated to Thoresby.

The mine boundaries in the north-west and south are set by geological constraints, while adjacent collieries, both working and abandoned, form the remaining boundaries.

Thoresby Colliery became another RJB acquisition after privatisation.

The primary reserves at Thoresby lie within the Parkgate seam and number some 15.6 million tonnes, at a depth of 800-900m. Another 8.7 million tonnes of resources lie to the north of the colliery within the Deep Soft seam, at a depth of around 850m. To the south-west, the High Hazels seam offers another 8.1 million tonnes of resources, in a good quality seam at a depth of around 500m. The High Hazel seam has been previously worked by the Thoresby Colliery, but work was abandoned within this seam in 1983.

Into the Future...

The future of Thoresby colliery lies within the reserves offered by the Parkgate seam., including that area of the Parkgate once covered by the abandoned Ollerton Colliery. The conditions within this area cannot be ascertained until a successful re-entry has been made and secured.

Another block of reserves, once covered by the license of the adjacent Welbeck Colliery, has also been allocated to Thoresby. This should give the mine a secure future for the next few years and allow time for work in the abandoned Ollerton area to be established.

RJB also has long term plans to commence a two face operation within the Deep Soft seam at some point, and degassing of the British Coal workings in the High Hazel seam could provide the mine with work for a further seven years.