PLANS to carry out further extraction at an Ammanford mine are set to be decided this week.

Carmarthenshire County Council is set to decide on Thursday, September 14, whether or not to allow further extraction from the Glan Lash opencast coal mine.

The plans would allow for around 95,000 tonnes more coal to be extracted from the mine. The plans were submitted by Bryn Bach Coal Ltd in 2019 to mine ‘premium quality anthracite from the proposed Glan Lash extension.’

The extension covers 10.03 hectares of land to the north of the current Glan Lash site on Waunhafog Road, Ammanford. It would see 11 jobs created.

Officials at the council have recommended refusal of the plans stating that extending the mine threatens the delicate ecology and precious wildlife of the surrounding area, including the Caeau Mynydd Mawr Special Area of Conservation.

There have been more than 600 written objections submitted to the council from residents around the area and environmental campaigners.

On Thursday, September 14, a number of residents and campaigners will be gathered outside Carmarthenshire County Hall ahead of the meeting to show their opposition to the mine and call for an end to fossil fuel extraction in Wales.

Bryn Bach Coal Ltd has said that the coal will not be burnt, but Friends of the Earth believe that any further extraction of coal would release methane into the atmosphere, one of the main greenhouse gases that contributes to the climate crisis.

Magnus Gallie, a planning specialist at Friends of the Earth, said: “We urge councillors to follow the advice of their council and say no to this application to mine more coal at Glan Lash.

“We are in a nature as well as a climate emergency. As the ecologist’s report makes clear, digging up this coal would be a serious threat to wildlife and biodiversity in Carmarthenshire. Future generations will not thank us if we allow veteran trees to be pulled up, irreplaceable habitats to be obliterated and endanger rare marsh fritillary butterflies.

“Most of the coal, we’re told, will be used for water filtration and other uses. But digging up coal is damaging, even if it’s not being burned, because it adds to global supplies and releases more harmful methane. We also cannot be sure this coal won’t end up being burned.

“Welsh Government policy prohibits the licensing and permitting of new coal mines, except in ‘wholly exceptional circumstances.’ As alternatives to coal-use in water filtration are readily available, the application fails to meet these strict policy requirements.

“It’s vital that councillors make the right decision and sent a strong message that Wales is a globally responsible nation.”

Haf Elgar, director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, added: “It’s hard to believe that, in 2023, when the effects of climate change are being felt so deeply by so many, here in Wales, and across the world, that we’re even considering digging up more coal.

“Heatwaves, wildfires, flooding – extreme weather is becoming part of our lives. Now is the time to be bold and think of the generations that follow us.

“In April, councillors in Merthyr Tydfil decided unanimously to reject an application to continue mining at Ffos y Fran opencast mine. We urge councillors in Carmarthenshire to make the same, brave, historic decision that is right for climate and nature.

“By saying no to more coal at Glan Lash, the last opencast mine in Wales, we can finally put an end to open cast mining in Wales – for good. Let’s use this opportunity to make coal part of our heritage, not our future.”