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Lessons must be learned over the “epic mismanagement” of the Ffos y Fran mine saga, a Senedd Committee has said.

Ffos y Fran mine, in Merthyr Tydfil, is the last opencast mine in Wales. The license to extract coal from there expired in September 2022.

However, local residents reported that the mine was still operating – illegally – many months after this before the site was closed in November 2023. 

A report published on Thursday August 8, by the Senedd’s climate change, environment, and infrastructure committee, calls for lessons to be learned in how sites are restored after mining permits end. 

In May, the committee heard the restoration of the site could be significantly curtailed due to a shortfall of tens of millions of pounds.

Current restoration costs are estimated at between £50m to £120m, and despite the original restoration promises, the company running the mine, Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd, now claims that they are unable to afford this. 

The committee is calling for the Welsh Government to use stronger enforcement measures when planning controls are breached, for example, when mining continued at the site after the licence expiration. 

The committee is also urging more transparency in all aspects of the mining process so that the public is aware of how plans develop.  

However, the committee’s report also looks into the wider issue of coal tip reclamation, urging the Welsh Government to seek UK Government funding to ensure the safety of more than 2,000 tips across Wales.

It also recommends making a degree of community ownership a requirement for opencast and coal tip reclamation sites.

“Broken promises”

Plaid Cymru MS Llyr Gruffydd chairs the committee. Following the release of the report, he said: “This report details some of the most egregious examples of the broken promises made to communities across Wales. There has been an epic mismanagement of these mines, by all parties, from start to finish.

“Mining companies have racked up enormous profits but when it’s time to fulfil their restoration promises, the wallet is empty. They do as they please and local communities foot the bill.  

“This is why it’s so important for community ownership to be considered in any new development, which could lead to more responsible management of mining sites.”

Mr Gruffydd said residents felt “completely failed” by public authorities which “have seemed to be on the side of the mining companies”.

He also said transparency had been a “real problem” and continued: “Time is quickly running out to secure what was promised for the local community in Ffos y Fran.

“We urge the Welsh Government, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, and other local authorities, to learn the lessons from this report, so these mistakes are never repeated in opencast mines or coal tip reclamations.”