The £165m project, which was approved in December nearly two years after it was first proposed, has faced significant criticism over its potential environmental impact and its clash with UK climate targets.
The mine is expected to produce nearly 2.8 million tonnes of coking coal annually which will be used in the production of steel, rather than electricity generation.
South Lakes Action on Climate Change (SLACC) - the other main opponent of the mine - is also considering legal action and sent a letter to the levelling-up secretary, Michael Gove, in December seeking more information and setting out some of the errors in law in his decision.
When approving the decision, Gove said the government was “satisfied that there is currently a UK and European market for the coal” and that it was “highly likely” that global demand would remain high for the time being.
Niall Toru, lawyer at Friends of the Earth, said: “By giving the go-ahead to this polluting and...