Coal mining
Surface coal mining in Wyoming in the Un-
ited States.
A coal mine in Bihar, India.
Coal mining is the extraction or removal of
coal from the earth by mining. When coal is
used for fuel in power generation it is re-
ferred to as steaming or thermal coal. Coal
that is used to create coke for steel manufac-
turing is referred to as coking or metallurgic-
al coal.[1] Coal is also an important compon-
ent of Methanol which resides in binding res-
in, plywood, and acetic acid, plastic bottles.
Coals are the means of producing more than
half of the United States of America’s electri-
city.[2]. In the United States, United King-
dom, and South Africa, a coal mine and its
accompanying structures are collectively
known as a colliery. In Australia, ’colliery’
usually only refers to an underground coal
mine.[1]
Usage and Markets
In general coal is sought for its carbon con-
tent for its energy content. Predominantly it
is used for electricity generation. The cement
and steel industries uses its high carbon con-
tent for extraction of iron from iron ore and
for the cement contents.
History
The oldest continuously worked deep-mine in
the United Kingdom and possibly in the world
is Tower Colliery in South Wales valleys in
the heart of the South Wales coalfield. This
colliery was first developed in 1805, and its
miners bought it out at the end of the 20th
century, to prevent it from being closed.
Tower Colliery was finally closed on January
25, 2008.
Coal was mined in colonial America in the
early 1700s, and commercial mining first oc-
curred around 1730 in Midlothian, Virgin-
ia.[3]
Coal-cutting machines were invented in
the 1880s. Before the invention, coal was
mined from underground with a pick and
shovel.
By 1912, surface mining was conducted
with steam shovels designed for coal mining.
Methods of extraction
The most economical method of coal extrac-
tion from coal seams depends on the depth
and quality of the seams, and also the geo-
logy and environmental factors of the area
being mined. Coal mining processes