Collieries within the Swadlincote area formed part of the South Derbyshire coalfield, one of the smallest in the Midlands, which extended southwards into Leicestershire.

The earliest reference to Swadlincote’s mineral deposits is contained in an agreement dated 1294 between Henry de Verdun, Lord Delaxon and Thomas, son of Richard de Alrewas, whereby:

" … the said Henry and his heirs shall make their profit of sea coals and other minerals found underground in the aforesaid land … and … shall have free power to make marl pits … "

Although a limited amount of coal mining and pottery-making had been carried out since medieval times, the extensive development of both industries did not take place until the Industrial Revolution of the 18th Century, which brought increased demands for coal and clay products which the town was able to satisfy. An example of this pioneering initiative is provided by Sir Nigel Gresley, who in 1795 opened a small mine linked to pottery kilns and workshops in the grounds of Gresley Hall, his ancestral home, in an unsuccessful attempt to make porcelain. (Eventually Gresley Old Hall would become the main social club for miners and their families, and is still open today).

Throughout the 19th Century, a number of collieries, brickworks and potteries were established. Though there were many smaller collieries, the main ones were Granville Colliery sunk in 1823, followed by Church Gresley (1829), Stanton (1854), Bretby (1855), Gresley Wood (1856), Cadley Hill (1861), Netherseal (1872), Coton Park & Linton Colliery (1875) and, as the shallower seams became exhausted in the latter part of the century, further, deeper shafts were sunk and more advanced techniques employed.

Alongside coal mining the town’s other major industry, pottery, also developed and as the industry expanded, the skyline became dominated by kilns. It was possible to see 60-70 chimneys from almost any aspect around the area, without a turn of the head. Although the most important product associated with Swadlincote was the supply of pipes (to meet the requirements of Public Health Acts in this country and around the world), the local industry also included Sharpe's Pottery where the world’s first rim-flushing toilet was developed, and 'famous names' such as Bretby Art Pottery and T.G. Green Pottery famous for the highly collectable Cornish Ware Range.

Much of this development could not have taken place without the improvements in local communications. The Ashby Canal and its associated network of tramways was opened in 1802; a number of toll roads passed through the area. The Swadlincote Railway (a horse drawn tramway) was opened in July 1827 and this was followed by the construction of the Midland Railway's Burton-Leicester line in 1849, with branch lines to Woodville and Swadlincote. Eventually all the major collieries had either rail or canal access, an essential pre-requisite for the cheap and efficient transportation of bulky commodities such as coal and clay products.

Upon the nationalisation of the coal industry, on 1 January 1947 with the formation of the National Coal Board, there were eleven collieries on the South Derbyshire Coalfield, eight of them in Derbyshire and three in Leicestershire. Some 6600 men were employed and production averaged 2.7 million tons per annum. Output peaked in 1964/65 at 3.7 million tons.
Production declined from the late 1960s by which time Swadlincote suffered a shortage of stable building land and had become scarred by colliery spoil heaps, clay holes and other features of industrial dereliction.

By 1982 there were only four remaining collieries on the coalfield of which only one, Cadley Hill, was in South Derbyshire. However, it was still a significant employer with 3500 men at work and averaged production of two million tons of coal each year. With its last day of production on Friday 25 March 1988 the closure of Cadley Hill Colliery marked the end of deep coal mining within South Derbyshire.

That was not quite the end of the story however. Facilities such as the Withdrawn Machinery Stores at Swadlincote and the NCB's national Mining Research and Development Establishment at Bretby survived a little while longer, and the site of Cadley Hill Colliery was opencast, with surface coal extraction finally ceasing in 1997. The opencast site provided a new road as part of the planning S106 agreement that gives a modern direct link from the town centre to the A444. It is now being developed as 'Tetron Point' on the western side of Swadlincote. There are a number of key employers already located there and most of the site is now under negotiation. Proposals yet to be realised include a hotel and golf course.