The face was extended to 349m last year in the 2.35m Silkstone seam and is now in production.

Mine workers moved over 5000 tonnes of equipment across nearly five kilometres to bring the new face into production using a newly overhauled heavy-duty battery-powered CB21 materials carrier.

“We were cutting coal within eight weeks of the transfer operation getting underway on 307’s unit,” production manager Shaun McLoughlin told UK Coal newsletter NewScene.

“We recognised that because of the distance involved, our BoBo locomotives would have needed a battery change after each chock was delivered to the new unit. It would have been a slow operation whereas the CB21 was available for a lot more work.”

Just before Christmas the mine also set a new record by producing its annual budgeted tonnage almost three weeks ahead of schedule. By year-end 2005, the mine produced around 2 million tonnes, more than twice the amount it produced in 2004.

The mine also achieved a best daily face average of 13,000t for the week ending October 1 and a best colliery weekly output of 66,504t with 4200 skips being wound out of the No.2 shaft.

Weekly output of the new face is expected to reach 52,000t of saleable coal.