a small mining village which owes its fame to the soft paste porcelain which was made there for a short period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nantgarw_Colliery
local coal plentiful and cheap
it is far less expensive to carry clay to coal than the coal to the clay for the weight of the coal consumed in firing is greatly in excess to that of the raw materials which go into the pottery or china
coat dust suspended in air is explosive.. the worst accidents in history have been caused by coal dust exposions