IT is one of Torfaen’s most iconic landmarks and now Blaenavon’s Big Pit is on the lookout for a new mine manager.

Peter Walker, 57, who started working down the pits when he was a teenager, currently carries out the role of both mine manager and museum keeper, but will be moving to be museum keeper part-time.

Mr Walker explained that the mine manager role at Big Pit is the same as it would be at a production mine, with the person being responsible for health and safety, the maintenance of the site and training of staff. He said: “Here of course we don’t take coal ‘out’ we put people ‘in’ so the manager is also responsible for the safety of thousands of visitors who go underground each year to experience a tour.”

Mr Walker, originally from the Rhondda, started as a miner at Cwm colliery, Beddau, at the age of 19.

He said: “Some of my family were miners so it was a common occupation. Like everyone else in those days I started as an ordinary miner and worked my way up. Whilst working as a miner I went to night school and college and after about eight years qualified as a mining engineer.”

He then moved around different mines over the years before coming to Big Pit as the mine manager in 1992 and becoming the director of the museum in 1998.

Mr Walker, now living in Ystrad Mynach, said: “ Having the right people with the right qualifications is vital to ensuring that Big Pit will still be here in 20 years time.

“For that reason we’ve taken on two apprentices and we’ll soon have to start training a mine manager from scratch.”

He explained though that with the current vacancy that they are looking for a person who can hit the ground running with plenty of experience and knowledge.

Mr Walker explained that once a mine manager is appointed, he will stay on part time as keeper to run the museum.

Big Pit closed in February 1980 as a production mine but due to its shallowness it made it the perfect location to house a visitor attraction, and it reopened as a museum in 1983.

He said: “ Prior to coming here as manager the first I knew of big pit, was when some grey haired men came to salvage some redundant equipment from the mine I was then working at.

“Little did I know that one day I would become one of those grey haired men.”

He added: “I don’t get the time to take guided tours any more but like all the staff here I still I get a lot of job satisfaction from seeing the smiles on visitors faces and knowing that we are doing our bit to keep the heritage of mining communities across Wales alive.”

The mine manager role at Big Pit is advertised as paying £41,737-£61,512.

Details can be found on www.museumwales.ac.uk and the closing date is 5pm on December 11.