Background
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Coal mining in Asturias has historically suffered structural deficiencies that have affected its competitiveness. Asturian coal was more difficult to mine and, therefore, more expensive and of a lesser quality than English coal – to such an extent that it was only able to survive in the market under protected conditions. Following the peak of the First World War and historic maximum production levels in 1918, the return to market normality and the importing of British coal put Asturian cola mining against the ropes. The National Fuel Council (1926) and the Coal Statute (1927), i.e. public protection and the forced consumption of national coal, once again saved the market from drowning. Following the Spanish Civil War, autarchy and the order of self-sufficiency regarding power prolonged the interventionist measures of the past, this time under the Fuel Advisory Committee (1939). Between 1940 and 1959, Asturian coal production never ceased to grow. The Stabilisation Plan (1959), on imposing the progressive liberalisation of tariffs, drove the transition forwards towards new sources of power. Coal began to take second place to oil. Successive events worsened the mining crisis (strikes in 1962 and the rural exodus during the seventies), which led to greater labour costs. The 1st Development Plan (1964-1967), which started the so-called Approved Action with discouraging results, did not help overcome the crisis. In 1966, the main companies in the sector, responsible for 71% of regional production, unsuccessfully attempted an initial merger project in Henosa (Hulleras y Energías del Norte). |
