The U.K. coal industry is at the point of fizzling out following the planned closure of two of its three remaining deep mines in northern England. Among the beneficiaries: Russian exporters of the commodity. U.K. production of coal—still a major source of power in the country—has been in long-term decline since Margaret Thatcher ‘s government defeated a miners strike in the 1980s. When Mrs. Thatcher came to power in 1979, Britain produced 122 million tons of coal from 219 underground and 58 open-cast mines. Last year production was one-tenth that amount, the lowest to date. A further drop when the closures are completed in 18 months will underline how reliant the U.K. has become on foreign suppliers. Since 2002, annual imports of coal used in U.K. power generation have doubled. The country now imports nearly four times as much coal as it produces domestically. Problems for the U.K. coal […]