Stoke-on-Trent City Council is seeking planning permission to board up all the ground floor doors on the empty buildings at Chatterley Whitfield, in Fegg Hayes.
The extra measures are being introduced after photographs taken inside the colliery buildings appeared on the internet.
The site was designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by English Heritage, in 1993, following the closure of the mining museum there.
Chatterley Whitfield is the last surviving Victorian coal mine left in its entirety in England and out of the 34 buildings on site, dating from 1883 to the 1960s, five are listed and 14 scheduled.
If planning permission is granted, a 2.4 metre high fence will be put up on the site, all the ground floor windows will be meshed over, external ladders and staircases will be sealed off and the drainpipes will be covered with anti-vandal paint.
Jim Worgan, chairman of the Friends of Chatterley Whitfield Colliery, said the group alerted the council after the pictures appeared on a website for so-called urban explorers – people who break in to empty buildings and photograph them.
The 70-year-old, from Newcastle, said: “Some of the buildings are dangerous so we were very concerned to see pictures taken 150ft in the air.
“If something happens to someone on the site all hell will break loose.
“Reluctantly we have got to agree with the extra security measures. We would like the buildings to be brought back into use but I don’t know whether it will happen in my lifetime.”
He said the group wanted one of the buildings to be set aside to tell the history of the North Staffordshire coalfield.
Councillor Mervin Smith, cabinet member for city development, said security had been reviewed after a 67-acre heritage country park opened next to the colliery last month.
He said: “Community safety has to be paramount. The historic buildings have been fenced off since the council obtained the site but with the new park attracting increased visitor numbers and the next phase of the project taking time to develop, it is essential to maintain security levels.
“The city council is proposing improving the existing fencing as well as adding extra security measures to prevent people gaining access to the buildings if they break-in to the site.”
Mr Smith said the local authority was looking into ways to bring the colliery buildings back into use.
One idea is to turn the site into a green energy business park.
But he warned this may not happen for some time, making the added security measures vital to preserve the site.
He added: “At the moment the city council is exploring possible options for the site and any funding opportunities.
“However, it is early days and with the current financial constraints it may be some time before a scheme is able to be developed at the site.”
John Chadwick, aged 76, from Brown Edge, worked at Chatterley Whitfield for more than 40 years in the winding houses and as a blacksmith.
He said it made him sad to see the buildings neglected.
He said: “I’d like to see them renovated so people can go and have a look at them. I don’t think the site should ever have been sold to the council.
“Every year they leave the buildings, the harder it will be to renovate them. It is a special site – the miner’s canteen is the only one left in the country.”
A decision on whether to allow the security measures is expected to be made under delegated powers by the end of this year.