ABSTRACT

In December 1994, the majority of the core collieries which were privatised by the Conservative government, were acquired by Coal UK (CUK). In addition, the company purchased a number of the mines which were offered for sale as 'stand alone' units in parallel with the main privatisation package. CUK had also purchased under the lease/licence arrangements, a number of those mines closed by British Coal following the 1992 coal crisis, and indeed, when the privatisation of the coal industry was completed, the company had secured ownership of over 60 per cent of the deep mines in the UK.