OPENCAST COAL IN THE UK. A LOOK AT CURRENT PRACTICE.

Under normal circumstances 'opencasting' produces 10-15% of the country's coal output and much of it is of high quality. Most of the country's coal is vested in the NCB and the major sites are supervised by the NCB's Opencast Executive who act as consulting engineers to the contracting companies working the coal on a tender basis. Smaller sites with less than 50,000 tons of coal may be worked by licence operators who pay a royalty to the NCB of POUND 16/ton. A third category of operation involves the working of 'alienated' coal which is outside the ownership of the NCB. In these cases operators prospect and seek planning permission but have the freedom to market their production. The account gives an overview of present practice.