MineArchiveBlaenant Colliery
| Location | Crynant, Neath valley, Neath Port Talbot — 51.7460, -3.6990 (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Commodity | Coal |
| Type | Coal |
| Worked | 1930–1990 |
| Operators | Blaenant Colliery Company (1930–1947), National Coal Board (1947–1990) |
| Status | Researched |
Overview
A Crynant drift mine that took over Cefn Coed Colliery's workforce and one of its shafts in 1968, going on to become the last colliery working in the Neath valley when it closed in 1990.
History
The Blaenant Colliery Company was incorporated in 1930 to drive the Blaenant Drift into the No. 2 Rhondda seam at Crynant, in the Neath valley. By 1935 the colliery was in full production, employing 120 men underground and 20 on the surface and producing 52,000 tons of coal that year. The colliery passed to the National Coal Board on nationalisation in 1947. When the neighbouring Cefn Coed Colliery closed, the majority of its workforce transferred to Blaenant, which extracted the same No. 2 Rhondda seam at a shallower depth; one of Cefn Coed's two shafts continued in use afterwards, ventilating Blaenant and serving as an emergency exit. Blaenant closed in 1990, the last working colliery in the area, and is unusual among Neath valley collieries for having some of its surface buildings survive in good repair.
Workings
Worked as a drift into the No. 2 Rhondda seam; after Cefn Coed Colliery's closure, one of that colliery's two shafts was retained to ventilate Blaenant and serve as an emergency exit.
Closure
Closed in 1990, the last colliery working in the Neath valley.
What remains
Some of Blaenant's surface buildings survive in good repair, unusually for a Neath valley colliery site.
Abandoned workings can be dangerous — unstable ground, uncapped shafts, flooding and bad air are common even where a site looks safe from the surface. This entry describes history and general location only; it is not an access guide.
Recorded claims
Individual factual claims, each attached to the source(s) that support it below. Where sources disagree, both are kept.
- By 1935 Blaenant employed 120 men underground and 20 on the surface, producing 52,000 tons of coal that year. 1
- When Cefn Coed Colliery closed, most of its workforce transferred to Blaenant, and one of Cefn Coed's two shafts was retained to ventilate Blaenant and serve as an emergency exit. 2
- The Blaenant Colliery Company was incorporated in 1930 specifically to drive the Blaenant Drift into the No. 2 Rhondda seam. 1
Sources
- (secondary) Blaenant Colliery — Northern Mine Research Society
- (secondary) Cefn Coed Colliery Museum — Wikipedia
Record created: 1 September 2026 · Last researched: 1 September 2026