Not a tree to be seen, flocks of sheep and wild ponies frolicking on the moor: The plateau overlooking the Taff and Rhymney valleys in South Wales is striking in its wildness and vastness. "Isn't it beautiful? Look, you can see the Brecon Beacons!" said Chris Austin, a retired computer engineer, pointing to the peaks on the horizon. The plateau is famous for its breathtaking views, but above all, for the Ffos-y-fran open-cast coal mine. It is the largest in the United Kingdom, stretching over a 500-hectare perimeter that begins less than 50 meters from the first housing estates of Merthyr Tydfil, a former industrial stronghold with a population of 55,000 people.

On this January afternoon, behind the fences demarcating the Ffos-y-fran perimeter, semi-trailers could be seen bumping along blackened tracks on the side of a gutted hill. "This mine is a huge scar on this land, and it's the locals who have to suffer the consequences," said Chris. This Merthyr Tydfil resident has been campaigning against the mine for over 20 years. In 2003, he, his wife Alyson and their two children moved into a new bungalow in the hills above the town, unaware that three years later, in 2006, the open-cast mine project would be approved by the National Assembly of Wales, the Senedd, despite their opposition.

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