his South Wales estates into a major industrial enterprise. He commissioned surveys in 1817 and again in 1823 to 1824 which showed huge reserves of coal under his land. He sold some outlying parts of his estate in order to purchase other potentially more productive areas, and claimed rights to minerals under certain common lands through his feudal titles. Lord Bute was one of the main forces behind the development of Cardiff Docks for the export of coal and iron from south Wales. By 1840, the network of canals and railways enabled 4.5 million tons of coal to be mined and transported. Of this, about half was used by the steel industry, about 750,000 tons went for export, and the rest was put to other industrial and domestic use. By 1854, coal production had nearly doubled, and 2.5 million tons was being exported References Coal mining in Wales Coal industry