Rising insurance premiums are forcing the closure of Betws mine

Betws Colliery, near Ammanford, will shut on Friday, 1 August.

The announcement came a day after a deputation of Betws miners and their local MP, Adam Price, met a Government minister in London to appeal for help.

But the plea was rejected and Mr Price said afterwards that closure was inevitable.

We have had to take this difficult action to maintain our commercial viability Betws managing director Martin Cook

The colliery blamed rising costs in liability insurance premiums which meant it could no longer be kept running profitably.

Employees had already been given redundancy notices last month.

Managers said they could no longer afford to pay insurance premiums after a dramatic rise.

Annual premiums have rocketed from £80,000 in 2000 to an expected £700,000 this year, undermining efforts to stay viable.

But the meeting with Energy Minister Stephen Timms on Tuesday failed to clinch Government money to stave off closure.

About 100 jobs will be lost at the Amman Valley colliery

The company hopes to resurrect itself as a smaller scale operation, serving niche markets, later.

"We had a very good meeting with Stephen Timms who recognised the wonderful success of Betws Colliery over the last decade," said managing director Martin Cook.

Escalating costs

"It was the first deep mine to be taken over back in 1993 and we have succeeded in all our objectives against the odds.

"But we accept that because of changes to state aid rules the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) and the Government are not in a position to assist Betws Colliery."

He added: "This closure has come about due to the depressed domestic market and escalating costs.

"We have had to take this difficult action to maintain our commercial viability.

"But I am absolutely confident that we will continue to contribute to the local economy in an area of high unemployment for many years to come."

He said Betws was widely recognised as a success story which had confounded expectations after it was bought out in 1993.

Mr Cook also praised Barclays Bank for being the only large financial group to support the mine throughout, and he paid tribute to the workforce.