it was all a con............
thatcher destroyed the coal industry simply to destroy the unions that threatened her rule......
and the miners suffered..........
most mines made a profit but were deliberately over spent to appear to make a loss to justify its closure, as whats been already said.
they deliberatlely over spent on new machinery to show colliery making a loss, many required new equipment for years and never got it, all of a sudden they had new workshops, new weigh bridges new machinery and spare machinery lined up in the yards, items they neither needed or would ever use
I live right next door to the former NCB headquarters at TONDU in south wales and know many who worked there. and the same story was there,
they fitted out a brand new purpose built workshop there costing over £1,000,000 to build and kit out. spent a fortune on the laboratory for testing coal samples and within 6months it was closed and demolished within a short space of time, nothing ever replaced it...........
One particular colliery ive researched closed in the mid eighties, reason was uneconomical,(it had just been refitted with new equipment) when that colliery closed it had just been surveyed and had coal reserves for another 125 years of mining.
Thatcher was responsible for the destruction of our independance, if we ever (hope it never comes) have another war in this country we will fall as nearly everything is imported and we have lost valuable skills
A lot of people i know are now reverting back to coal heating, one of my firends has just spent £3500 having gas removed and chimney repaired and fitted coal heating........................
just my opinion dont take it personal anybody.................