THE FUTURE of Monckton Coking Plant has been safeguarded after its owners bought Maltby Colliery in a deal worth more than £30million.
Hargreaves Services, which bought the Royston coke and chemical plant in June 2005, said the move would safeguard operations at Monckton for “many years to come”.
Mick Gore, managing director of the 150-employee Monckton plant, said Maltby is the only colliery in the country to supply the type of coal the coking plant needed.
With it Monckton produces coke to send to a firm Cheshire where it is used produce soda ash for use in washing powder and exported to Scandinavia where it is used in the manufacture of alloys.
Mr Gore said: “If we used coal that doesn’t have the same characteristics as Maltby, we wouldn’t be able to make a product.
“Maltby is the last mine in this country that produces this type of coal and there was a very realistic threat to jobs at Monckton and Maltby before this deal went ahead."
