Coking coal remains the basic material used in the steel industry. Although intensive work is being carried out on the use of, inter alia, hydrogen for direct reduction of iron ore, the blast furnace process remains the dominant steel production technology. This means that coke, which is produced from coking coals, will still remain the basic material used in the production of steel.
Apart from Poland, coking coal is currently produced in the EU in the Czech Republic. Current decisions indicate that its production should end next year, but it is possible that it will be extended until 2025.
The United Kingdom is a Western European country where activities related to investments in the hard coal mining sector have been undertaken. In West Cumbria in the North West of England, West Cumbria Mining (WCM) plans to mine coking coal at its Woodhouse Colliery Plant. It was assumed that the implementation of the mine project will allow for the annual production of 2.7 million tons of coking coal, which, in line with the company’s strategy, will reduce dependence on the import of this raw material from outside Europe. The ongoing formal activities are awaiting a positive opinion from the Department for Leveling Up, Housing & Communities. According to The Guardian, coal mining plans (metallurgical) have sparked strong local feeling in Cumbria in recent months and were the subject of a public inquiry last September. However, the final decision to start the mine construction process has not been made and the owners remain uncertain. The British department’s decision is expected to be made by November 8.
Since its establishment, the Institute has been providing services in the field of qualitative analysis of coal and coke and conducting statistical research of the Polish cokemaking industry.
They are carried out mainly by specialized staff employed in the Department of Coke Technologies – head of the Department – Bartosz Mertas Ph.D., bmertas@itpe.pl
More additional information can be found here:
https://www.westcumbriamining.com/company-news/wcm-project-update-august-2022/