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British Coal

Logo: British Coal, PD, via Wikipedia3

British state-owned coal producer, 1987–2004

The British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation responsible for the mining of coal in the United Kingdom from 1987 until it was effectively dissolved in 1997. The corporation was created by renaming its predecessor, the National Coal Board (NCB).2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1946Founded1

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The British Coal Corporation was a nationalised corporation responsible for the mining of coal in the United Kingdom from 1987 until it was effectively dissolved in 1997. The corporation was created by renaming its predecessor, the National Coal Board (NCB).2

The story

The Coal Industry Act 1987 (c. 3) changed the name of the National Coal Board (NCB) to the British Coal Corporation. With the passing of the Coal Industry Act 1994, the 16th and last Coal Industry Act, the industry-wide administrative functions of British Coal were transferred to the new Coal Authority from 31 October 1994.

All economic assets were privatised. The English mining operations were merged with RJB Mining to form UK Coal, a monopoly. British Coal continued as a separate organisation until 31 December 1997, after which it was run as a residual legal entity by staff within the Coal Directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry, eventually being dissolved on 27 March 2004.

From Wikipedia’s article on British Coal, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1946Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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