West Cumbria Mining Commits to Open Communications

West Cumbria Mining, the company seeking to develop a new world class metallurgical coal mine in Cumbria, held two public meetings in July 2014 to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to find out about the project plans and have the opportunity to air their views and ask any questions.  Over 200 people took the time to come and hear more about this project that could see the development of many new job opportunities for generations to come.

Mark Kirkbride, Chief Executive Officer of West Cumbria Mining, commented,

“It was great to see so many people getting involved in finding out more about the plans and talking to us about their previous experience as part of a mining community.  Understandably, some people were hesitant and had concerns, but on the whole the feedback we received was positive and we are really glad to have people’s support for the project.”

Some of the comments included

• “Very informative and helpful company representatives answering questions”
• “Good explanation of the project”
• “Very impressed with the representatives, but will reserve judgement until the location is known”
• “Very informative at this early stage”

They saw the many benefits such as

• “Jobs for local unemployed”
• “Helping to secure the future of the railway”
• “Profitability for the area”
• “A better future everyone will benefit from”
• “Rise in housing prices as better paid jobs available”
• “Training for young people”
• “Beneficial impact on local suppliers”

Some of the concerns raised were

• “Lessons from the past that have cost lives will be ignored”
• “Negative impact on tourism”
• “Jobs being filled by people from outside the area”
• “What will the transport links be like”
• “That ex-miners won’t be involved and their experience lost”
• “Environmental and landscape impact”
• “Impact on local transport – road, rail”

“At these meetings, we agreed it was important to keep everyone informed of our plans and progress because people are keen to see what stage we are at.  Our new website provides more background on what coking coal is and how it’s mined, as well as updates on our progress,” continued Mark Kirkbride. “We are planning to distribute newsletters in the coming week to give updates on the temporary boreholes and we are happy to provide an update at our offices on Sneckyeat Road industrial estate or indeed meet people over a cup of tea for a chat.”

In the coming weeks, the temporary investigation boreholes will be drilled; a small but important step in ensuring that the coal is suitable for modern steelworks, and therefore confirming that a new mine would be viable.  West Cumbria Mining anticipates that each hole will last for no more than two weeks from the arrival of the drill rig onsite and, as soon as the samples have been extracted, the ground will be returned it its original condition.  Any disruption will be minimised, but everyone’s patience is really appreciated during this critical phase.

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