Sinking of the Albion Colliery began in 1884 on the site of Ynyscaedudwg Farm. It was owned by the Albion Steam Coal Company and opened in August 1887. Production at the colliery quickly flourished and its average weekly output soon reached 12,000 tons of coal. This was the largest tonnage for a single shaft coal-winding colliery in the whole of South Wales. By 1893, 1,500 men and boys were employed at the Albion. The colliery's early years were relatively free of serious incidents, but disaster struck on the afternoon of Saturday 23 June 1894.
On that fateful afternoon, the night shift was at work removing dust and repairing the roadways. At 3.50pm, two loud explosions were heard above ground in quick succession. These were followed immediately by a charge of dust and smoke from the downcast shaft and then from the upcast shaft. The effects of the explosion were appalling. It caused the deaths of 290 men and boys, the worst mining disaster in South Wales to that date and only to be surpassed by the explosion at the Universal Colliery, Senghenydd in 1913. Few miners were brought out alive, and the majority of them subsequently died of their injuries. Victims' bodies were taken to the hayloft of the pit's stables that acted as a temporary morgue, and harrowing scenes of relatives looking for their family members by lantern light followed. Many of the bodies were badly mutilated and at least three of them taken from the hayloft had to be returned after being mistakenly identified. Another source of confusion was that nobody knew the number of men below ground when the explosion occurred.
An inquest was held at Pontypridd the following month. It immediately became apparent that there was a difference of opinion as to the cause and location of the explosion between the inspectors and professional witnesses on the one hand, and the colliery owners on the other. Having heard the evidence, the jury members concluded that an explosion of gas was accelerated by coal dust, but they failed to reach agreement on other issues. The Government appointed a barrister, Mr J. Roskill, to scrutinise the evidence. His report was presented to the Home Secretary in September 1894. Mr Roskill was of the opinion that the explosion was caused by the blasting of timbers which ignited an accumulation of gas, and that in turn ignited the coal dust. The likelihood of this happening had increased because of dangerous and sloppy working practices at the colliery. These included the blasting of timbers during shifts, inadequate watering of the mine to lay dust, and new Saturday shift patterns that meant there was no interval for clearing dust between shifts. Although the report recommended prosecuting the Albion Coal Company and various individuals, in the event proceedings were taken only against Phillip Jones, the manager, and William Anstes, the chargeman, and fines of £10 and £2 imposed.
The colliery was reopened within two weeks of the explosion, and it wasn't long before the miners lost in the disaster were replaced. The workforce grew to 1,735 by 1896, increasing to 2,589 by 1908. The following years saw a constant decline in the numbers of men employed at the pit, and in 1928, the Albion Steam Coal Company went into liquidation. The Powell Dyffryn Steam Coal Company purchased its assets, and it remained their property until the formation of the National Coal Board in 1947, at which time the workforce was just under 1,000. By the time the colliery closed in 1966, the numbers had almost halved. After Albion Colliery had ceased to provide work for Cilfynydd's inhabitants, the tips still towered menacingly over the village threatening a disaster similar to Aberfan. A two-phased scheme to reduce the steep gradient of the colliery spoil began in 1974 and was completed two years later.