AN aid package worth up to £110m, for beleaguered mining communities, was approved yesterday.
The package, which has been cleared by the European Commission, is geared to preserving jobs and the fabric of local communities.
The coal subsidy will secure employment at the country's remaining 18 pits, which employ about 13,000 miners.
Ellington Colliery, in Northumberland - the last coal mine in the North-East - will not benefit directly from the package, as it does not fit the criteria.
But RJB Mining, which has won more than £70m of Government support, decided to keep the pit open as a gesture of goodwill.
RJB spokesman Stuart Oliver said the firm was investing £10m in new equipment and full production at colliery was expected to resume early next year.
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