An overview of the progressive facilities at the Comrie Colliery coal mine in Scotland, with an emphasis on the steps taken to ensure worker welfare there.
Trivia:
When The New Mine was made in 1945, there were around 1000 coal mines operating in the UK. Today, there are less than a dozen.
Described in The New Mine as a "pit-head of the new world", Comrie Colliery in Fife operated from 1936 to 1986. In spite of the film's optimistic claim that the mine would "stand the test of time", and comments on the safety of its operations, the Comrie Colliery site is now derelict.
Despite The New Mine's praise for the cutting-edge techniques employed at the mine, the disused site was recently described by Fife Council as the "largest area of post-industrial dereliction in West Fife". The land around the mine, clearly discernible from above, is reported to be heavily polluted, contaminated with cyanide, and the 40 metre high pile of coal waste (seen forming in the film) has purportedly been burning since the 1970s. Nonetheless, there has recently been movement towards the redevelopment of the site.
This film has been made available by the British Council Film Collection for non-commercial research and educational purposes . . The British Council Film Collection consists of 120 short documentaries made by the British Council during the 1940s designed to show the world how Britain lived, worked and played.
View, download and play with the Collection at www.britishcouncil.org/film .
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