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Glynea Colliery, 2005.
Situated in the village of Bynea about 3 miles from the centre of Llanelli, between the main road and the railway line. There is still extensive evidence of the mine at this site.
It was opened by the Copperworks Company who sunk the shafts to 450 ft deep between 1861 and 1863. The pit worked the Bushy, Fiery and Golden seams of dry steam coal.
By 1880 it was in the hands of Llendebie, Neville, Druce, and Co. and from the Inspector of Mines list 1896, there were 117 men employed producing manufacturing coal.
The mine was to be one of the worse mines for explosions of methane gas in Carmarthenshire. Between 1870 and 1919 there were no less than 13 explosions. Tragically over the years 34 men lost their lives in the mine via many different causes.
Industrial relations at the mine left much to be desired and in 1905 a strike occurred that escalated in to something short of a riot with 56 summonses being issued. The dispute (over representation) was to prove one of the longest in the history of the South Wales Miners and lasted for 12 months.
Glynea and Castle Coal and Brick Co., Ltd. owned the mine by 1908 and at this time there were 218 employed.
One explosion followed a few days after the Senghenydd explosion on October 18th 1913 and resulted in 8 miners losing their lives. Their names:
William Price
Oliver Thomas
David John
Henry Mainwaring
Daniel Price
John Edwards
Thomas Hopkins
David Jones
About 300 men were employed at the mine at the time and 150 were underground that morning. The cause of the explosion had been a build up of methane gas while shot firing.
This explosion resulted in criminal proceedings against management and civil suits being brought for compensation.
From a list 1923, New Glynea Colliery Co. Ltd. were the owners employing 393 men, producing from the Fiery and Golden seams.
It closed in 1926