Scotland declares formal opposition to coal mining- PublishedScotland has in effect banned coal mining by confirming no support will be given to future extraction.If allowed, the mine near Whitehaven would be the UK's first deep coal mine in more than 30 years, extracting coking coal for steel production from beneath the Irish Sea.The UK's steel-making industry currently use large quantities of Russian coal, but former prime minister Boris Johnson previously said he wanted to move away from Russian resources following the invasion of Ukraine.Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater confirmed the Scottish government had agreed a formal position of no support for coal extraction, and called on the UK government to do the same,Ms Slater, who is a minister under the power sharing agreement, told her party's conference: "Scotland, the country that helped bring the coal-fired industrial revolution to the world, has drawn a line.Coal extraction licences might still be granted into exceptional circumstances, for instance when it is legally required as part of building work or where a seam needs to be removed in preparing foundations."