Thoresby colliery opened in 1925.
The first two shafts in 1925 were sunk to 690 metres (2,260 ft). The shafts were deepended by 109 metres (358 ft) in the 1950s. After privatization of the
National Coal Board in the 1990s the mine was taken over by
RJB Mining (later
UK Coal as UK Coal Thoresby Ltd).
Coal seams worked by or available to the pit included the Parkgate seam (from 1977 after closure of
Ollerton Colliery); the Deep Soft seam; and the High Hazels seam (working ceased 1983).
In April 2014 it was announced that the pit would close July 2015. The colliery's 600 employees had been reduced to 360 by the time of the closure in July 2015.