Photo: Mond Nickel Works at Clydach c1920 (Old Postcard)

Nickel and Tareni Colliery

Anthracite coal was essential in the production of nickel metal, which was one of the new wonder metals of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The nickel ore refined in South Wales was mined in Canada, but was processed into nickel at the world’s largest nickel refinery at Clydach in the Swansea Valley. It consumed over 140,000 tons of anthracite coals annually and was only seven miles from Tareni Colliery and linked to it directly by main line railway. The Mond Nickel Company owned Tareni Colliery from 1928 to 1947, but had a vested interest in the mine before that time. Read more about the construction of the nickel refinery, the refining processes and the many uses of nickel such as armour plate for warships, in coinage of the realm, in the motorcar industry and in telecommunications.

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