COAL...MINES...

With coal there is a variety of quality and type and this is based on a ranking system, which is determined by varying types of vegetation, the depth of the coal, temperatures and pressures at the depth and the length the coal has been forming in the site of deposit. Coalification is the change and process coal goes through as it matures. This is important, as it will determine the physical and chemical properties therefore ranking the coal in quality.  As well as this the ranking system is determined by the degree of transformation from the original plant material to carbon. The types of coal mined are based on the ranking system. Either highly ranked and therefore high in carbon and heat value but low in hydrogen and oxygen.

(Word Coal Association. 2012).

Mining is the process of extracting coal, minerals or natural resources. In correlation to this essay coal mining specifically is extracted from the earth in various ways. When deciding on mining coal a professional team decides on the mining method based on the geological coal deposit. Coal can be extracted through underground, surface or controversial methods.  Underground mining involves drilling a shaft down to the coal line. This process can be done by a room and pillar method, which involves leaving lines/pillars of coal to hold the mine roof in place. The longwall method uses hydraulic roof supports. Surface, open pit or strip mining is the removal of soil and rock from a designated area through explosions therefore exposing the coal near the surface. Once this is done the coal is removed through machinery and labor and transported to the permitted destination. Lastly controversial mining is an exclusive method where by the company blasts off mountaintops to reveal the coal. “Mountaintop removal practices are common in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia; areas in which some former mountains have been transformed into flat or rolling hill terrain.” (Green Peace. Mining Impacts. 15 April 2010).