Welsh coal mines.

Trip Start ??? ??, 2003
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Trip End ??? ??, 2007


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Flag of United Kingdom  ,
Friday, April 13, 2007

In April and then again in June this year, photographer Alex Masi and I visited South Wales to cover a the reopening of coal mines that will revive the historic mining industry in the region.

Consequences, both social and economical, will be several and far-reaching, as the debate over energy sources for the future has never been so high on the political agenda for the last few decades. Media attention is building up quickly.

Alex and I spent about ten days in the area on two different occasions, and had the opportunity to visit three different  collieries: Unity Mine - which has reopened at the end of July after eight years of inactivity - Tower Colliery - the last remaining deep mine in South Wales, due to close for good early next year - and Aberpergwm.

Mining has a strong history in this part of the UK, and miners are well-respected members of a community that is today impoverished but hoping in a brighter future. Today, miners are also highly-skilled workers, and jobs in one of the pits that are reopening are extremely well-paid, reasonably safe and definitely sought-after.

Alex and have been working on this project for a while now, and we look forward to seeing it published. We focus on the socio-economic aspects of the issue, and aim to show how the coal industry affects people's lives, especially those ones that are directly involved such as miners and their families.
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