M. Garside
Research lead covering energy, chemicals & resources
Mining industry in the United Kingdom - statistics & facts
With a total mineral production value of nearly 46 billion British pounds in 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) is home to many natural mineral deposits, from fossil fuels such as coal, metals such as tin and copper, and industrial minerals like china clay. Even precious metals such as gold and silver can be found there. For hundreds of years, these minerals were mined up and down the British Isles, especially in England. However, the UK mining sector has declined massively during the last century, exemplified by increasingly large mineral trade deficits over the past decade.
UK coal mining: from industrial revolution fuel to production phase out
One of the most important resources in Britain’s mining history is coal. Coal helped fuel the industrial revolution and Britain’s empire in several ways, such as powering steam engines and fueling blast furnaces to turn iron ore into iron. Increasing demand meant that coal production in the UK grew rapidly, peaking at 292 million metric tons in 1913. Around that time, the number of employees in the coal mining industry was more than one million. However, due to several reasons such as rising costs, competition from abroad, and climate targets, coal production has been in decline ever since. Indeed, in 2020, the UK government announced that coal would be phased out of the nations energy mix by the end of 2024. In 2023, approximately one million metric tons of coal was produced in the UK, with just one active open-cast coal mine in the UK, and six operational deep coal mine sites.The UK mining industry today
Today, mineral production in the UK comprises of mainly construction materials and industrial minerals. Large volumes of limestone and dolomite are still mined and quarried in the UK. The largest number of limestone and dolomite mining sites are located in the South West of England. This historic mining region was once a global leader in the metal mining industry in the UK, especially for tin. Although metal mining has followed a similar fate to the coal mining industry, the production of non-ferrous ores such as silver and gold has seen an increase in recent years. There have been plans in recent years to reopen old tin sites for the extraction of materials for electronics. Deposits of lithium are also thought to be present in these mines, with one company, Imerys British Lithium, aiming to produce about 21,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually in Cornwall once production is up and running.
