page_title: Bwllfa Colliery
section_title: Closure
hierarchical_section_title: Bwllfa Colliery / Closure
caption_attribution_description: Dare Valley Country Park, Cwmdare, near Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf
context_page_description: Bwllfa Colliery was a coal mine located in the Dare valley near Cwmdare in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It operated from 1856 to 1957, remaining open as a ventilation shaft for Mardy Colliery until 1989.
context_section_description: With coal being mined from under the Maerdy mountain from both sides, it was only a matter of time before the economics of production dictated the closure of one of the two mines.
  In 1949 the NCB had made a £7-million investment in Mardy Colliery, creating capacity for No.3 and No.4 shafts to access 100 million tons of coal in the 5 ft seam, estimated sufficient to last for one hundred years. It had been transformed into one of the most modern pits in the United Kingdom, with fully electric winding, new extended railway sidings and a coal washing plant on the surface.
  In 1957, further investment in Mardy created new underground roads linking the mine directly to Bwllfa. At this point the decision was made to stop raising coal from Bwllfa which would be kept open only for ventilation and water extraction. By 1977, workings at Mardy had moved further north and east, and the decision was made to close the last shaft at Bwllfa.
caption: Northern view of Dare Valley Country Park, showing the former pit winding gear of Nantmelyn Colliery
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