The business behind plans to restart the mining industry in West Cumbria is beginning a further phase of exploration drilling this month.

West Cumbria Mining Limited (WCM) will be making up to six boreholes along the coast, north of Sandwith, to gain further information regarding the coal seams and geology in the area. The exploration works are expected to last until October.

WCM has  spent the last two years involved in coal exploration on and off the shore of west Cumbria, which it says has proved the presence of high quality coking coal in the area that would be used wholly in the steel industry.

At the moment, the bulk of the coking coal used in Europe is imported from the United States.

WCM has said that while it wishes to see, and supply, a thriving steel industry in the UK, current concerns within British steel manufacturing does not have an effect on its overall plans to export to the European market, which currently imports 45m tonnes of coking coal a year.

If the scheme goes ahead it will provide work for more than 500 employees, 80 per cent of whom will come from the local area.

The proposed new mine would use the latest modern mining equipment, which can be remotely operated by a miner positioned a short distance away from the machinery thus improving safety for workers at the coalface.

Once extracted, the coal would be transported via underground conveyors to the surface, where it would be stockpiled, washed and finally transferred by a buried conveyor from the Marchon site to a train loading facility on a siding built by WCM in the Pow Beck Valley, south of the proposed NuGen Mirehouse station.

Plans for the scheme are due to be submitted in January 2017 and WCM already has funding in place up to and beyond the planning phase of the project.

The firm says it is confident that, as long as the project secures planning approvals, funding will also be in place for construction and operation.

The company is also holding drop-in sessions on June 15 and June 29.

Its technical director, exploration manager and project manager will all be available to answer questions from the public in the sessions, between 2pm and 4pm, at the Haig Pit Visitor Centre in Whitehaven.

Meanwhile, the nuclear company NuGen is also drilling test boreholes as it steps up preparations to build a nuclear power plant near Sellafield. 

It began drilling on the Moorside site in December and is now drilling off-shore as well.

NuGen says the results will inform the design and layout of Moorside, and support licensing, planning applications and other consents.

Project manager Matt Waddicor said: “The onshore element of the work is progressing extremely well, with over a third of the boreholes complete.

“Commencing the off-shore drilling is an important milestone.

“The information we collect will help inform the various options available for the cooling water tunnels and marine offloading facility.”