A Mine is Born

Series

Series Name

Mining Review 18th Year

Issue

Issue No.

8

Date Released

Apr 1965

Stories in this Issue:

1. 1A Mine is Born
2. 2Feet
3. 3Hands - seen by Sid Chaplin

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 3

Summary

NoS synopsis: Kellingley, one of the most recent of the Coal Board’s big new mines to be completed. Outline of the six years’ work done on this, one of the 13 new mines sunk since 1947, with the first coal coming out.
NCB Commentary - Since 1947, when the Coal Board took over Britain’s mines - 13 entirely new ones have been sunk.
One of these is Kellingley in Yorkshire - and beneath this land, lie more than 200-million tons of coal, over 800- yards down.
Six years ago, Kellingley’s first winding tower was being built over the spot chosen for one of the two shafts.
For the first 200-yards down the ground had to be frozen into a wall of ice to seal-off running water while the shafts were lined.
Five months later the first tower was finished and the second on the way.
A shaft is a chimney sunk into the ground, through which are wound men and materials, and eventually, coal.
One year later, both shafts were well down below the frozen area - and sinking deeper everyday.
This drilling hoppit, a travelling tool kit, was one of the many innovations which streamlined the work and helped the shaft-sinkers to acheive record speeds.
For each inch they went down shot holes had to be drilled into the hard rock strata - charged with explosive, and fired.
Down and down they went; lowering shuttering into place and behind it lining he shaft with concrete.
Using methods like these a record of 330-feet in one month was set up by the shaft-sinkers.
Early in 1965 - six years after the starting date - the permanent winding cages have been installed in the shafts and the underground roadways have been driven out into the coal seams - a trickle of coal at first - development coal, but soon, in full production, the coal from Kellingley will flow like a black river - for the rest of this century and beyond.
A mine is born.

Keywords

Mining

Locations

Yorkshire; England

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases
Films on Coal Catalogue   1969, p.50
Film User   Vol.19 No.230 December 1965, p719.
The National Archives COAL 32   /13 Scripts for Mining Review, 1960-1963

Credits:

Sponsor

National Coal Board

Production Co.

National Coal Board Film Unit