Political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, said the Labour Government was failing Britain after it was revealed that coking coal was going to be imported from Japan for Scunthorpe’s British Steel plant.
In a post on social media, the party said that Labour’s Net Zero plan would see coking coal travel 17,400 miles by boat but it’s common sense plan would see coal travel the 236 miles from Whitehaven to Scunthorpe by train.
It was granted planning permission but was quashed in the High Court last year, which meant the Government had to reassess the plans. But the company wrote to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government withdrawing the application.
MPs were recalled to Parliament on Saturday from their Easter break and voted to pass an emergency law which handed control of the Chinese-owned Scunthorpe site to the Government to keep its two blast furnaces operating.
Whitehaven & Workington MP Josh MacAlister said the firm’s withdrawal followed the decision by the Coal Authority last year to reject its coal licence applications and the Government was not involved in that decision.
Reform UK said that the Whitehaven mine would help keep the British Steel site fuelled.
If the Whitehaven mine had been given the go-ahead, the coking coal produced from the undersea seams would not be enough by itself to supply the British Steel plant.
As part of its planning application in 2020, West Cumbria Mining said: “The WCM product is a high volatile coal, known as High Vol A Hard Coking Coal.
“Every coking coal has different physical and chemical properties which are present in the coals in acceptable ranges of concentration. For example, a higher sulphur coal is still capable of being classed as a High Vol A metallurgical coal because of its other properties, such as fluidity and dilatation.
“A coke maker will blend a higher sulphur coal with a lower sulphur coal to balance the final blend to ensure it meets the specification demanded by the steel
makers for their target grade of steel.
“Up to 15 different coking coals, broadly three to five from each volatile classification, will be blended by the coke maker to ensure the right balance is reached.
“WCM will produce a coking coal with a maximum sulphur content of 1.7%.”
Consultants Wood Mackenzie also submitted a report as part of the 2020 application. It said beyond 2050, coking coal consumption in Europe would continue a gradual decline, as low carbon steel production technologies continued to slowly displace conventional steelmaking processes.
Chris McDonald, Labour MP for Stockton North, said this week: “Some are once again pointing to the proposed West Cumbria coal mine as a missed opportunity.
“Let’s be clear: the mine would not have saved the day. In fact, it’s a distraction from the real decisions we need to make to secure our steel industry.
“The truth is that the coal from West Cumbria was always of limited use to UK steelmakers due to its high sulphur content. High sulphur coal damages steel quality, increases costs, and breaches environmental regulations.
“Wood Mackenzie assumed this coal could be blended with lower sulphur coals. But they missed two key points. First, the types of coal available for blending, particularly Australian coal, don’t have low enough sulphur levels to offset Cumbria’s. Second, UK environmental regulations at Scunthorpe apply not just to the blend, but to individual coal inputs.
“Even if that hurdle could be cleared, the reality is that British steelmakers don’t need coal. They need coke. And with no coke ovens currently operating in the UK, Cumbria’s coal would have to be shipped abroad, converted to coke, and shipped back. That’s not energy security – it’s economic nonsense.
“Even in a hypothetical world where sulphur isn’t an issue, the mine is operational, and we’ve rebuilt our coke capacity, coke itself requires a blend of up to 10 coal types. We would still be reliant on the international market for 90% of our supply.
“This debate has been clouded by commentators with no real understanding of the steel industry.
“Their opinions don’t reflect the reality on the ground. What matters now is supporting the teams at places like Scunthorpe.”
