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The Last Coal Mine

Day and night, two hundred miners descend deep beneath the Welsh hills to mine a 300-million-year-old rock. For centuries, this high-grade anthracite coal was prized for one purpose—to be burned. But now, with every other coal mine in the country shuttered, the mine’s future depends on its use in batteries, water purifying, glass hardening, and the many other industries in the rapidly evolving carbon market.

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Shane Wallage, underground fitter.

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Cynan Lloyd-Hughes and Lloyd ‘Tiger’ Adams, underground miners.

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Aberpergwm Colliery.

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Continuous miner being moved to another section of the mine.

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Chris Phillips, underground FSV driver.

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Matthew Williams (L), Lewis Stead and Dale Carter.

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Simon Thomas, safety manager, at the start of a new underground road (NE1 cross cut 10), 5.5km 

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Glyndwr Roberts (L), Andrew Harrigan, James Mogford, underground bolters.

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Underground check board.

The Region and Its Coal Mining History

Wales has a long-standing mining tradition, one that mirrors, but predates, the coal mining of Appalachia in the United States. The south of Wales was sparsely populated at the start of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. Home to Britain's largest continuous coalfield, coal production surged and workers flocked to the expanding mines. By 1900, the south of Wales accounted for a third of global coal exports, and by 1921, over 250,000 workers were employed in the industry. Coal was transported from mines via a series of tramways to canals that fed the docks. As the railways replaced canals, mechanisation increasingly transformed the mines, and the overseas coal market gradually declined. By the 1930s, mine employment had halved compared to 1920. One by one they closed and by 2018, only one mine remained.

"I play rugby for Glynneath 1st team, we're currently playing the championship west. We’ve been re-opened for five years now I believe, and we've got many years of coal left. I’ve lived in Glynneath all my life, driven past this place numerous times growing up and always wondered what it’s like to work here, so for a hometown boy to come and work in a place like this, it’s amazing to be honest. It’s nice to see what Wales can produce, what south Wales can produce, and we're the only mine left in Wales now."

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Adam Nation, underground miner.

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Aberpergwm locker room after 1st shift.

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Adam Nation at rugby training after a day underground at Aberpergwm mine.

Glynneath: A Town Shaped by Coal

With mirrors tucked, cars take turns easing down the street between the brick row houses built when coal miners flocked to the valley town in southern Wales. Glynneath’s 4,000 residents are reminded daily of its rich coal-mining heritage. A large bronze statue of Max Boyce stands at the traffic lights at the center of town. The Welsh icon that sang of rugby and coal, he reminisces of the coal mine he once worked at, ‘the pit head baths are a supermarket now.’ By 11:30 a.m., a line forms outside the fish and chip shop, a large mural hung on it's wall overlooking the grocery store, painted with the names and opening dates of the local coal mines. Every Thursday evening, flood lights flicker on the rugby pitch, a few players still wearing coal mascara from their shift underground. Harmonies from the men's choir fills the Rugby Hall on Monday nights. Max walks from his home across the pitch for a beer.

Today, it’s tourists, not coal miners, who flock to the area, drawn to its waterfalls, mountain trails, and zip lines that wind their way across the old mining landscape. 

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Glynneath, Wales.

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Thursday night bingo in the basement of the Glynneath Social Club.

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Glynneath, Wales.

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Picture from the 1980's of fitters that worked at the now closed Tower Colliery. In the centre, Mark Thomas, who now works as an underground fitter at Aberpergwm.

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James Legg (L) and Andrew Harrigan.

Aberpergwm Colliery: A Legacy of Struggles and Survival

On the edge of town, the Aberpergwm Colliery has been in operation since 1811, initially as a series of drift mines before becoming a commercial venture in the 1860s under W. Williams. It has weathered numerous industrial shifts, closures, and re-openings, the mine’s history reflecting the volatile nature of coal markets.

Aberpergwm’s output was always destined for a single purpose: burning. This dependency left the mine vulnerable to the same economic changes that saw every other coal mine in the country close as the global coal market continued to decline.

The last three decades alone saw the mine re-open in 1996 by Anthracite Mining Ltd., then acquired by Energybuild, in 2011, purchased by Walter Energy. At that time, most of its coal was being sent to Port Talbot Steelworks to fuel furnaces. In 2015 Walter Energy went bankrupt and the mine closed again. A group of UK investors revived it in 2018, but the closure of Port Talbot’s coal-fired furnace in 2024 further reduced demand for its product. The mine’s owners saw this change coming and began exploring new markets for its high-grade, low-sulfur anthracite. Today, only about 20% of Aberpergwm’s output is used for traditional combustion purposes. The rest is sold for applications such as battery production, water filtration, glass manufacturing, and electrode fabrication. The majority of its output is now finely crushed for use in carbon filtration systems.

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Lloyd ‘Tiger’ Adams, shuttle car operator.

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Huw ‘Dac’ Davies (L), electrician trainer, with Levi Barbour, Charlie ‘Millhouse’ James, Bayleigh Hill, Caelan Thomas, Rhys Jones, Sion Morgan, 1st year electrical apprentices.

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Leighton Wilson, underground beltman.

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Lee Jones, surface welder.

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Harvey Thomas, underground fitter.

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Bleddyn Morgan (L), loader operator, speaks with Brian Thomas, training manager.

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Gary Pearce (L) and Paul Rosser.

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George Clarke (L), fitter, and Ryan Price, apprentice fitter.

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Rhys Morgan, apprentice electrician.

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Finlay Chespey, 1st year electrical apprentice.

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Robert Gregory, lampman, mops the hallway to the showers at the end of first shift.

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Rhys Jones (L), Bayleigh Hill, and Sion Morgan at the end of their shift.

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Robert Gregory, lampman.

A Changing Region

Tourists on zip lines now soar over what was, until 2008, the site of Glofa’r Tŵr (Tower Colliery), the UK’s oldest continuously operating deep coal mine. Just ten minutes drive up the hill from Aberpergwm, the Tower Colliery is part of a broader reinvention of the many south Wales’ post-coal communities. Adventure companies in Glynneath attract visitors with activities like gorge walking, rock climbing, kayaking, canyoning, and guided tours of the town’s five waterfalls. The growing number of bed and breakfasts in the area reflects how the region’s business focus has shifted from coal mining to tourism.

As the last remaining coal mine in Wales, Aberpergwm stands at a crossroads. The town of Glynneath is adapting to outdoor adventures and local culture as a supplement to its economy. This reflects the broader transformation of South Wales.

The coal merchants, who still deliver coal to be burnt in houses for heating, are under no illusion that their time is coming to an end, the miners however don’t think they will suffer the same fate. Its owners are unashamedly pursuing alternate applications for their coal in the many emerging markets. They want to lend the mine’s storied legacy with innovative uses for its high-grade anthracite. The “electric vehicle only” charging stations in front of the coal mine wash rooms signal how deeply the region is changing. A change that a future Max Boyce will sing about.

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Anthony Harris (L) and Steve Lambert keep warm in their office during a Monday morning tea break before coal deliveries in Glynneath.

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Steve Lambert (L) and Anthony Harris deliver bags of coal.

"I've been doing this since I was sixteen, well keep going till our body gives up, but I think the industry will probably be gone before that. The steel works are going, there's only one coal mine here so there's limited work for people. My Grandad started this job, my dad still works with us and we will take it over." Steve Lambert, Coal Merchant, Glynneath.

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A bag of coal is dumped at the front door of a Glynneath resident for burning.

James Isaac, laboratory technician, loads two coal sample crucibles into a laboratory oven to determine the ash content percentage.

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Thomas Davies (L), director of operations, and his father Rhydian Davies, managing director.

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Electric charging stations at the Aberpergwm employee carpark.

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Peter ‘Pierre’ Griffiths, control room operator.

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James Isaac, laboratory technician.

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Shane Wallage, underground fitter.

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