THE TORY government is set to order British Coal to axe 30 of its 50 remaining deep mines, at a cost 25,000 jobs, in the run up to The 60 percent cut in capacity would inevitably mean the closure of many modern and profitable collieries.
Ministers have instructed civil servants to draw up regional aid packages on a scale unseen since the decimation of British Steel in the early eighties, the Independent of Sunday reports.
Pits at risk include Easington and Vane Tempest in the North-East, Markham Main in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire's Bolsover, Parkside in Lancashire and Bettws and Taffmerthyr in Wales.
Strongholds of the breakaway Union of Democratic Mineworkers -which effectively broke the 1984-85 pit strike - will also be badly hit. Unemployment in its Mansfield heartland will soar to well over 20 per cent.
British Coal's commercial future depends on currently deadlocked negotiations for the renewal of contracts with National Power and PowerGen. The privatised generation duopolists buy 65 million tons of coal a year from BC, four-fiths of its entire output.
The electricity companies are seeking a full-scale switch to natural gas and cheap imported coal when the present agreement expires next spring, a move which would effectively scupper the chances of a successful BC sell-off.
The government may be forced to interfere with market forces to ensure a new deal.
National Union of Mineworkers executive member Billy Pye told Socialist Outlook that pits nearest the coast would be the first to face closure from imports, with inland collieries hit later. "In the end, you'd be looking at justfive or six pits left."
Meanwhile, British Coal's smokeless fuel business, Coal Products, set to be the first tranche to be privatised, with Coalite owners AngloUnited expected to beat off two rival consortia proposing management buyouts. Anglo's main interest lies in shutting down plants to reduce overcapacity in the sector, with inevitable further job losses.
The NUM's anti-privatisation strategy centres on building an alliance with rail unions fighting the sell-off of British Rail. Talks between the NUM and RMT railworkers' leaderships are expected shortly.