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The development of the south Wales coalfield at the turn of the 19th century was initially aimed at supplying fuel to the iron manufacturing industry, which had developed in the late 18th century based on ore deposits in the north-east. However, the construction of canals linking the iron and coal-producing areas with the south coast, and later the coming of the railways, transformed the coal industry into a major export sector. By the 1840s coal-mining had overtaken the iron industry as the most important economic sector, and it remained the mainstay of the Welsh economy for the next 100 years. Decline first set in during the Great Depression of the 1930s, but the industry received a temporary boost during World War II. After 1945 the downward trend was inexorable. Falling demand for coal, the geological problems of the Welsh coalfields, and growing competition from cheaper producers overseas led to the closure of 115 mines between 1947 and 1966. By the early 1990s, only five mines were still operating, employing about 2,600 miners.

Wales Slate Quarry in Bethesda

In 1993 the anthracite mine at Betws-y-Coed was leased to a private company; in January 1995 the remaining mines were sold off to the private sector as part of a general privatization of the British coal industry. Mining in Wales predates the advent of the coal industry, however. Slate-mining was an important sector of the economy during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and slate is still mined in Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire. Granite is also mined, and there are small gold mines in mid-Wales. Wales has plentiful water resources. Reservoirs have been created in many parts of the central and north-western mountains. Hydroelectric plants have been built adjacent to some of them, but most of the water is used to supply the cities of the English Midlands. The hydroelectric power station at Llanberis, in Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire, has been built inside a mountain, and is the largest hydropower facility in western Europe. There are also nuclear power stations on Anglesey and the Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire coast.