London | A British court has dealt a potentially fatal blow to an Australian-backed £165 million ($320 million) coking coal project in northern England, ending a 10-year campaign to open the UK’s first deep coal mine in 30 years.

West Cumbria Mining (WCM), backed since 2014 by high-profile Australian mining investor Owen Hegarty, got a green light for the controversial mine almost two years ago from the previous Conservative government, despite vociferous opposition from the green movement.