FORMER Selby coalfield boss Richard Budge is back in business.

The millionaire, dubbed 'King Coal', has bought a loss-making pit near Doncaster for £5 million, saving 200 jobs.

It is understood one of the other bidders was UK Coal - formerly RJB Mining - from which Mr Budge parted company in February following an alleged boardroom coup.

Hatfield Colliery has been closed for two months, despite the Government pumping almost £8 million into the ailing pit to cover losses caused by geological problems. But Mr Budge - who bought the Selby complex as part of an English Coal package for £815 million in 1994 - reckons it is a bargain.

As he took over the hot seat today, he told the Evening Press that Hatfield was sitting on one of the UK's largest coal deposits.

He said Hatfield was the "strategic entrance" to about 100 million tonnes of contiguous coal reserves, worth more than $2 billion.

The Coal Authority said it had chosen Mr Budge because he offered the prospect of getting the pit back into production early, with the minimum burden on the public purse.

Today Mr Budge revealed that he had put a bid in for the mine after reading an advert in the Financial Times.

He said: "I've been in business for 35 years and I'm not sure what I would do without work.

"I'm not a carpet slippers and pipe man, and I'm looking forward to making a success of this latest venture."

Mr Budge said he would overcome the geological problems with so-called retreat mining, a technique successfully pioneered at Selby.

He said he would also be looking for partners to build a clean-coal technology power station on the Hatfield Colliery site.

Doncaster Labour MP Kevin Hughes said: "Mr Budge knows the industry inside out. He is a 'can-do' man which is why he is called King Coal.

"When he bought English Coal, doubters said he had paid far too much - but within 18 months he had paid off his loans and even made a profit."

Updated: 14:33 Monday, October 08, 2001