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Rethinking Mine Entry Risk in Property Searches

November 5, 2025 • 3 min read

Tom Backhouse - Risk Assessment Lead (Mining and Ground Stability)

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Why Context Matters: Rethinking Mine Entry Risk in Property Searches
When it comes to coal mining risk, mine entries (shafts and adits) remain one of the most significant and widely misunderstood hazards. Their presence can halt transactions, reduce property values, impact insurance, or introduce long-term liability.

But not all mine entries are equal.

At Martello, we take this seriously with our CON29M including a level of manual expert review that no other provider currently offers ensuring you &  your clients have genuinely useful & actionable advice. 

The Problem with a Point on a Map


In most CON29M reports, a mine entry is flagged as a single data point, usually with a basic risk statement based on proximity to the property. But this binary approach misses the bigger picture.

For example:

  • Was the shaft professionally capped, or simply filled and forgotten?
  • Was the property built after the shaft was sealed, and with modern foundations in place?
  • Is the building itself contemporary with the mining activity, or was it constructed decades later, possibly over engineered or disturbed ground?
  • Does historical mapping confirm or challenge the accuracy of the shaft location?

These are questions that a data point alone cannot answer, but that make the difference between risk, and perceived risk.

Martello’s Approach: When It Matters Most, We Look Closer

In every Martello CON29M, where a mine entry is flagged within close proximity to the building footprint, particularly within the boundary of a property, we don’t stop at the data.

Our mining risk team conduct a manual expert review, that considers:

  • Historical OS Maps - to validate shaft origin, context, and timeline

  • The building (construction, age, materials) itself & the location of the shaft within the boundary.

  • Geographical Context (land use over time, topography, urban development).

  • Detailed review of Coal Authority (Mining Remediation Authority) data for that mine entry & associated mine workings (connection to underground mines). 

This combination of data, experience, and interpretation allows us to produce a more accurate, more useful report, one that clarifies the true risk, not just flags the theoretical.
Why It Matters

For conveyancers, lenders, and buyers, understanding mining risk isn’t just about compliance, it’s about confidence. Knowing whether a shaft represents a genuine concern or a resolved legacy issue can:

  • Prevent unnecessary delays or lost transactions
  • Support clearer advice and disclosure
  • Reduce the need for additional indemnities or insurance
  • Unlock difficult transactions with informed due diligence
The Only Report of Its Kind
Martello’s CON29M is currently the only report on the market that includes this level of manual expert interpretation as standard. We don’t charge extra. We don’t treat it as an add-on.

We do it because it’s the right thing to do, and because we believe coal mining risk deserves more than automated flags and black-box decisions.

If you’re a conveyancer, property professional, or buyer working within coalfield areas, this matters. It’s not just what’s on the report, it’s what goes into making it.

Want to see the difference?

Contact us at hayden@martello.app for a sample report or a quick run through. 

Tom Backhouse - Risk Assessment Lead (Mining and Ground Stability)

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