coal mining summary | Britannica

coal mining, Extraction of coal deposits from the Earth's surface and from underground. Because coal was the basic energy source that fueled the Industrial …

Coal mining Facts for Kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts. Open cut hard rock mining (Kalgoorlie, Western Australia). Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and, since the 1880s, has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for ...

Coal mining and transportation

Coal miners use two primary methods to remove coal. Surface mining is often used when coal is less than 200 feet underground. In surface mining, large machines remove the topsoil and layers of rock known as overburden to expose coal seams. Mountaintop removal is a form of surface mining where the tops of mountains are removed to access …

They Just Dig: On Writing, Coal Mining, and Fear

Anthracite mining was "the most dangerous job of the day," according to Donald L. Miller and Richard E. Sharpless, authors of The Kingdom of Coal: Work, Enterprise, and Ethnic Communities in the Mine Fields. Mine workers risked being buried under falling coal, sliced by the loosened anthracite's razor edges, blasted by faulty …

Mining | Definition, History, Examples, Types, …

mining, process of extracting useful minerals from the surface of the Earth, including the seas.A mineral, with a few exceptions, is an inorganic substance occurring in nature that has a definite chemical …

Coal Mining in India

Coal mining in India. India is rich in ancient coal fields like Gondwana coalfields (250 million years old) and tertiary coalfields (15-60 million years old). Coal mining was started during the rule of the East India Company in 1774 in the Raniganj coalfield along the western bank of the Damodar river. To increase coal production, the …

The future of coal in a carbon-constrained climate

This will not be easy. Globally, the coal mining industry alone employs about 8 million people and creates revenues of more than US$900 billion a year 2. While growth in coal investments is ...

Coal

Coal is a nonrenewable fossil fuel that is combusted and used to generate electricity. Mining techniques and combustion are both dangerous to miners …

U.S. coal mining

The highest number of U.S. coal mining jobs as of 2022 were in West ia, with 12,997. As a result of fewer surface mines, tens of thousands of acres are reclaimed from coal mining each year.

Coal mining

Coal mining - Underground, Surface, & Drilling: The various methods of mining a coal seam can be classified under two headings, surface mining and underground mining. Surface and underground coal mining are …

How Coal Works | Union of Concerned Scientists

While coal mining has long caused environmental damage, the most destructive mining method by far is a relatively new type of surface mining called mountaintop removal, or MTR. Currently practiced in southern West ia, southwestern ia, and eastern Kentucky, MTR requires stripping all trees from a mountaintop and …

Protest Songs of the Appalachian Coalfields

Scope: This pathfinder is intended to be a beginner's guide to the rich traditions of protest and labor songs in the central and southern Appalachian coalfields. From the very beginning of the industrialization period in the coal filled mountains of Eastern Kentucky, West ia, Southwestern ia, and Eastern Tennessee, mountain people ...

How Coal Works | Union of Concerned Scientists

Strip mining is used when coal seams are located close to the surface. It relies on very large machinery and requires many fewer workers per unit of coal. First, vegetation and soil are removed from the …

The future of coal in a carbon-constrained climate

Globally, the coal mining industry alone employs about 8 million people and creates revenues of more than US$900 billion a year 2. While growth in coal …

Coal mining | Definition, History, Types, & Facts | Britannica

There is archaeological evidence that coal was burned in funeral pyres during the Bronze Age, 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, in Wales. Aristotle mentions coal ("combustible bodies") in his Meteorologica, and … See more

How Coal Miners Shaped American Labor History | TIME

The often deadly hazards of being a coal miner were on full display during the early morning hours of Nov. 20, 1968, when Consolidation Coal Company's Number 9 mine exploded so violently that it ...

Coal mining

Coal mining - Underground mining: In underground coal mining, the working environment is completely enclosed by the geologic medium, which consists of the coal seam and the overlying and underlying strata. Access to the coal seam is gained by suitable openings from the surface, and a network of roadways driven in the seam then …

18 Fun Facts About Coal You Should Know

Coal and Steel Production. Coal is vital in the production of steel. Metallurgical coal or coking coal is a vital ingredient in the steel-making process. The Risk of Coal Mining. Coal mining, especially underground mining, can be a dangerous profession. Risks include mine collapse, explosions, and health risks from exposure to …

13 Pros and Cons of Coal Energy – Vittana

The Cons of Coal Energy. 1. The mining of coal destroys natural habitats. To remove coal from the ground, various mining processes are used that destroy the natural habitat in that region. Part of that destruction involves the potential pollution of groundwater tables and the removal of trees. There is also the added danger of having a …

Music of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields

Music of Coal: Mining Songs from the Appalachian Coalfields by Various Artists released in 2007. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at Al

Mining

Mining is the process of extracting useful materials from the earth. Some examples of substances that are mined include coal, gold, or iron ore.Iron . ore is the material from which the metal iron is produced.. The process of mining dates back to prehistoric times.. Prehistoric people first mined flint, which was ideal for tools and …

West ia Mining Disaster Told Through Steve Earle's …

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Steve Earle about his new album Ghosts of West ia. Much of the music was written for a play about a 2010 mine explosion that killed 29 coal miners.

Coal Country: 8 Of The Best Country Songs About Coal Mining

Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner's Daughter. The actual daughter of a coal miner, Loretta sings about a loving home made possible by the back-breaking work of her father. An anthem of sorts for the people who grew up like that, this song will speak to people for generations and is one of the best in country music's history.

Coal | Understand Energy Learning Hub

Fast Facts AboutCoal. Coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and a huge contributor to climate change, air pollution, and land disruption. It is a combustible, rock-like hydrocarbon mined from the earth that is burned to convert chemical energy to heat. A widely-available and non-renewable resource, coal is still the second-largest ...

Coal

Coal Mining in South Africa. Coal mining's advent in South Africa can best be traced to the start of gold mining in the late 19 th century, particularly on the Witwatersrand, with the first coal in appreciable tonnages being extracted on the Highveld coal field close to the nascent Witwatersrand gold mines. However, demand began to grow ...

10 Must-Read Books About Coal Miners

From working conditions, mining disasters, and labor struggles to the relationship between coal miners and corporate coal companies, and the devastating effects of black lung disease, you …

Coal | Uses, Types, Pollution, & Facts | Britannica

Coal is an abundant natural resource that can be used as a source of energy, as a chemical source from which numerous synthetic compounds (e.g., dyes, oils, waxes, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides) …

Coal Mining

22.6 The Buyers Multinational Coal Mining. The coal mining organization we visited is an Australian publicly listed organization. While our discussions with managers were based on Australian operations, this company has an offshore majority shareholder and is in the global top 10 "pure-play" coal companies (based on reserves) in the world.

Coal mining News, Research and Analysis

Coal mining: we're documenting the voices of unsung English miners before they disappear. Natalie Braber, Nottingham Trent University. Coal-mining communities are disappearing in the UK so it ...

Coal explained Mining and transportation of coal

Mining coal. Coal miners use large machines to remove coal from the earth. Many U.S. coal deposits, called coal beds or seams, are near the earth's surface, …

History of Coal Mining and Regulation in Ohio

Coal mining in Ohio began around 1800. During its first 150 years, coal mining was an unregulated industry. Underground Coal Mining. Until the time of World War I, coal mining in Ohio was conducted almost exclusively underground and largely by manual labor. These underground mining operations gained access to coal seams by vertical mine shafts ...

When coal was king in the Welsh valleys of the Rhondda

The "Great Rhondda" branches west to Treorchy and Treherdert, then winds north to meet the Head of the Valleys Road at Hirwaun. The people here just call them "The Valleys.". 6. The blackened faces of the hardworking Welsh coal miners. For more than a century, high quality, smokeless coal was extracted from the earth here.

COAL MINING IN INDIA : AN OVERVIEW

Coal Mining Technology ¾Most of coal production comes from open-pit mines, contributing over 84% ¾Technology in-place in Open-pit mining: shovel-dumper, dragline, in-pit crushing & conveying, surface miners. Bucket-wheel excavators in Lignite mining. ¾Technology in-place in Underground mining : Conventional & Mechanised

Social and economic costs and benefits of coal

For example, De Valck et al. (2021) examined coal mining expansion in Queensland, Australia. They compared three scenarios of land use: coal mining, grazing, and nature conservation. The results showed that based on market prices coal mining generated 10–14 times more benefits than grazing and up to 3000 more benefits than …

65 Songs About Mining (Pop, Rap & More)

VI. Country Songs About Mining. 1. Coal Miner's Daughter by Loretta Lynn. Artist: Loretta Lynn. Album: Coal Miner's Daughter. Year: 1971. The song is a country ballad that tells the story of Loretta Lynn's life growing up in a poor family in Kentucky and her eventual rise to stardom in the country music industry.

Coal explained Coal and the environment

Coal is an abundant fuel source that is relatively inexpensive to produce and convert to useful energy. However, producing and using coal affects the environment. …

Coal Burning, Fossil Fuels, Pollution

Mining enough coal to satisfy this growing appetite will take a toll on lands and communities. Of all fossil fuels, coal puts out the most carbon dioxide per unit of energy, …

Coal Mining | The Canadian Encyclopedia

A carbonaceous fossil fuel, coal has a long history as the key energy source in the transition to industrialization, beginning in 17th-century Europe. In Canada, the history of commercial coal mining dates back nearly three centuries. Coal provided a critical energy source for early industrialization, generating steam power and coke (i.e., a …

Negative Effects of Coal Mining

The negative effects of coal mining cannot be disputed: Destruction of Landscapes and Habitats: Strip mining also known as surface mining, involves the stripping away of earth and rocks to reach the coal underneath. If a mountain happens to be standing in the way of a coal seam within, it will be blasted or levelled - effectively leaving a ...