Last year campaigners against the mine at Shortwood Farm, between Cossall and Trowell, were "devastated" that then-Communities Secretary Eric Pickles did not call-in the decision approved by the county council.
More than 1m tonnes of coal can now be extracted by UK Coal.
The firm agreed to control noise and dust and restore the site to farmland after extraction.
Plans for the surface mine were first approved by the county council in 2013 pending the completion of legal matters.
Mr Pickles said in July last year he was satisfied correct planning procedures had been followed.
Nottinghamshire County Council supported UK Coal's plan to extract an estimated 1.28 million tonnes of coal and 250,000 tonnes of fireclay from the mine in under five years.
The coal will be used to generate power at the nearby Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station.
An opencast mine in Nottinghamshire has been given final planning consent.