FROM THE ARCHIVES: Unique fuel kept home fires burning
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Coal has been known of and mined in Brora as early as the 16th century, although the first structured plans for a colliery did not come about until around 1810.
These ambitious plans ran into thousands of pounds when put into practice however, and the mine was closed in 1825 when the Marquis of Sutherland withdrew funding from the project.
In 1872 the colliery was revived when the then Duke of Sutherland stepped in to manage the mine. From there it continued to pass through various hands up until 1974 when the colliery finally closed forever.
When active, the colliery was the centre of industrial life in the Brora area and held many noteworthy titles, including being distinguished as the northern-most mine in the UK as well as of being the only British producer of so-called Jurassic coal.
The coal which was mined at Brora was unique as it was younger than the usual coal mined in the rest of the UK, which is carboniferous – dating from around three hundred million years ago.
Brora coal by contrast, dated from the mid to late Jurassic period – from around 170 million years ago.
Brora coal was also quite volatile in its make-up, being high in ash and sulphur content which made it a less desirable commodity when competing in the commercial market.
Additionally, it contained a high content of pyrite, commonly known as “fool’s gold”.
When oxidised this can spontaneously combust when around high-sulphur coal such as that produced at the Brora mine.
This volatility led to a downturn in the market for Brora coal as there was a fear the coal would ignite on board a ship and cause a fire.
However, by the late 19th- century methods had been found to successfully reduce the risk of combustion, which eventually led to a rise in the sales of Brora coal.
The coal produced at Brora, in the early years of the colliery’s life, was generally used for local needs as importing supplies was difficult due to the lack of transportation.
When coal first started to be mined, in 1598, it was used to provide fuel to produce salt from seawater for the benefit of the local community and later, in the early 1800s, it was used to provide power for the local brickworks.
Later, the coal was used to power the machines at the Wool Mill and was also used to power the streetlights.
As the industries in Brora began to be run on electricity instead of coal, the mine saw a decline and consequently was nearly closed in 1949 when the lease was given up and the National Coal Board had no intention of saving it.
Luckily, MP David Robertson stepped in
to change the mine’s fortunes and throughout the 1950s the mine had excellent production figures, winning a UK mining competition for its output, earning a prize of 200 guineas.
After this period of good fortune, however, the mine continued to decline and, despite financing from the Highland Development Board in 1966, to sink new bores to reach other reserves, the mine closed in the 1970s for good.
