KIER Group has opened talks with potential buyers for its Greenburn mining operation in Ayrshire.

The construction to property giant said the move will lead to a non-underlying impairment charge in its current financial year. However, in a trading update issued yesterday, Kier insisted the sale will have no impact on the group's cash position.

Kier owns and operates the Greenburn Surface Coal Mine Complex, which comprises five working areas spread across 9.2 square kilometres. According to the company's website, the operations involve the extraction of 12 million tonnes of coal and the excavation of more than 650m tonnes of overburden.