Mining in Wales

Northeast Wales also had its own coalfield and Tower Colliery (closed January 2008) near Hirwaun is regarded by many as the oldest open coal mine and one of the largest in the world.

Welsh coal was regarded as some of the best burning and highest quality material for power generation, railroading, shipping, and was sold for higher prices.

Wales has also had a significant history of mining for slate, gold and various metal ores, making it one of the most materially rich plains in the world.

There is a well-known mining song part in Welsh and part in English: I am a little collier and gweithio underground The raff will never torri when I go up and down It's bara when I'm hungry And cwrw when I'm dry It's gwely when I'm tired And nefoedd when I die The complete English translation is as follows: I am a little collier and working underground The rope will never break when I go up and down It's bread when I'm hungry And beer when I'm dry It's bed when I'm tired And heaven when I die Despite the discontent, many miners continued to work, powering the global economy at their expense.

Ten new factories were established across South Wales, in towns like Ammanford, Garnant, Tonypandy, and Ystalyfera.The total cost for this construction project reached £400,000.

Historian Steven Thompson of Aberystwyth University, states that those behind the Grenfell scheme were keen to avoid creating a system where disabled miners felt isolated or inferior.

However, the scheme faced challenges, including difficulty attracting tenants and unstable employment opportunities due to many factories exclusively producing luxury goods, for whom demand was fickle and often low.

Other criticism was that the factories should have been operated by state-owned enterprises creating equipment for nationalised sectors of the British economy, versus being fully private-sector driven.

[4] In contrast, the Remploy scheme, a government initiative, focused on providing sheltered employment for severely disabled individuals (including, but not limited to former coal miners) in need of specialized working conditions.

While historians note it is difficult to assess Remploy's overall success in the context of disabled Welsh coal miners specifically, it played a vital role in offering social and economic support to those excluded from mainstream employment.

[In Wales,] Valeys bryngeþ forþ food, And hilles metal riȝt good Gold was mined as early as the Roman period at Dolaucothi in Carmarthenshire and possibly elsewhere.

In the 19th century gold was being extracted from a number of small mines at the southern end of Snowdonia with most activity centred in the valley of the River Mawddach and its tributaries.

Amongst the very many mines that have existed the following list identifies those known to have existed between the 17th and 19th centuries in north Cardiganshire and west Montgomeryshire: Aberffrwd, Alma, Blaenceunant, Blaencwmsymlog, Bron floyd, Bryn Glas, Bwa Drain, Bwlch, Cwm Mawr, Cwmystwyth, Cwm Ystwyth South, Cwm Ystwyth West, Cwmbryno, Cwmdarren, Cwmsymlog, De Broke, Dyffryn Castell, Elgar, Esgair Lle, Esgairmwyn, Fron Goch, Fron Goch East, Gelli, Glog fach, Glog Fawr, Goginan, Goginan west, Graig Goch, Grogwynion, Gwaith coch, Lisburne South, Llwynmalus, Llywernog, Logau Las, Melindwr, Mynyddgorddu, Nanteos, Pen Rhiw, Powell, Rheidol United, Temple, Ystumtuen Metal mining in the Gwydir Forest dates back to the 17th century, but its heyday came in the latter half of the 19th century.