The coal seam we work in South Wales is roughly half a metre thick and is thought to extend a great distance. We have been working it for over 20 years and have extracted thousands of tonnes.

At present our mines work on 3 levels, with the workings extending around 1 mile. For a tour of our Number 3 mine see the report of our latest safety inspection by the area mines' officer.

How we mine coal
To extract the coal, our employees work as a team.

The hewers hack the coal at the face, while others take it from the stalls, along headings to the main roadway. Here it is drawn by ponies to the bottom of the shaft to be raised to the surface.

Cutting the coal
We use the pillar and stall method to extract as much of the seam as possible. Stalls approximately 10 metres wide are worked leaving 10 metre square pillars of coal to support the roof.

To work safely the miners need a constant stream of fresh air. We create this artificially using an underground furnace at the foot of the mine shaft. Warm air rises up the shaft like a chimney because it is lighter and its place is taken by fouled air drawn out of the mine. Fresh air is directed into the active stalls using a network of trapdoors and curtains.

Transporting the coal
A main heading connects the worked seam to the mine shaft. Ponies pull full tubs of coal along here.

At regular intervals, narrower cross headings turn off at right angles. Tubs of coal must be transported along these by hand away from the stalls at the coal face.

Raising the coal to the surface
Our mine uses the water balance system to haul the full tubs of coal to the surface.

Water from storage container (A) is piped into the tank below an empty cage (B). The heavy tank of water drops the cage when the brake (C) is released.

Once the tank reaches the foot of the shaft it is drained (D), and a full tub of coal loaded. The empty tank of water on the opposite side of the pulley system which was raised by the previous action is then made heavy and dropped to haul the loaded tub to the surface. The water down the mine is then extracted using a water wheel powered pump.