Coal Mining Documentary - The Most Dangerous Job On Earth - Classic History

Summary

This script explores the evolution of coal mining, from ancient manual methods to modern highly efficient and mechanized techniques. It covers underground mining advancements like continuous miners and long wall systems, as well as surface mining innovations. The script also addresses environmental concerns, coal's role in energy production, and the industry's efforts towards cleaner coal technologies.

Takeaways

• 🌏 Miners at Camp Creek Mine in West Virginia travel seven miles through a mountain to reach their worksite, using a rail cart to navigate a cavernous tunnel.
• 🏭 The continuous miner is a highly efficient machine for underground coal mining, accounting for almost half of the coal retrieved today, with a large rotating drum cutting head that eliminates the need for blasting or drilling.
• 🚜 The long wall mining method is even more productive than continuous mining, with machines cutting across long coal seams and recovering up to 40,000 tons of coal per day.
• 🛠️ Modern mining technology includes remote-controlled machines and safety measures such as rock dust application and ventilating fans to prevent explosions and control dust and methane gas.
• 🔥 Coal is a crucial resource for energy production, with about 55% of the electricity in the U.S. being generated from coal, and it is also used in industries like concrete, paper, glass, and steel.
• 🕰️ Coal mining has a history dating back 3,000 years, with early methods including bell pits and drift mines, evolving to more sophisticated techniques with the introduction of machinery and electricity.
• 🛑 The U.S. Bureau of Mines was established in 1910 to improve mining safety following numerous mining disasters, leading to advancements in safety equipment and practices.
• 🏗️ Surface mining, or strip mining, became more prevalent in the 20th century with the development of large machinery capable of removing overburden and increasing coal recovery rates.
• 🌱 Surface mines are required to follow reclamation procedures to restore the land after mining, as mandated by the 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act.
• 🌡️ Coal-fired power plants contribute to air pollution and global warming, but the industry is investing in clean coal technologies to reduce emissions of sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and mercury.
• 🔬 Future advancements in coal mining and usage will likely focus on minimizing ecological damage and further improving the efficiency and cleanliness of coal as an energy source.

Q & A

What is the primary mode of transportation for miners to reach the Camp Creek Mine?

Miners at Camp Creek Mine in East Lin West, Virginia must travel seven miles through the insides of a mountain, using a rickety rail cart to reach their worksite.

What is the significance of the continuous miner in underground coal mining?

The continuous miner is a highly efficient machine that cuts up the seam of coal from the mining face, eliminating the need for blasting or drilling, and accounts for almost half of the coal retrieved by underground mining today.

How does a continuous miner differ from traditional mining methods?

A continuous miner uses a large rotating drum with bits to break the coal from the seam, unlike traditional methods that required blasting or drilling, and can mine in one minute what took a miner in the 1920s an entire day to produce.

What is the role of the shuttle car in the mining process?

The shuttle car is used to transport the coal from the continuous miner to a longer conveyor that carries the coal to the surface.

What is the long wall mining method and how is it different from continuous mining?

Long wall mining is another approach used in underground mines, which is perhaps the most productive current method. Unlike continuous miners, long wall machines cut across a very long seam of coal, breaking it apart with a rotating drum that sweeps back and forth, with the coal falling directly onto a built-in conveyor.

What is the role of rock dust in underground coal mines?

Rock dust, which is ground up lime, is sprayed on the mine roof, floor, and ribs to help prevent mine explosions by diluting hazardous concentrations of coal dust.

How does the coal industry contribute to electricity production in the United States?

About 55 to 56 percent of the electricity used in the United States is made by burning coal, with electric utility companies using more than 80 percent of all coal mined in the US.

What are the origins of coal mining, and how was coal formed?

Coal mining efforts reach as far back as 3,000 years for a resource that was formed millions of years ago from vegetation that grew in swamps, capturing the sun's energy and decomposing into peat, which was then transformed into coal under geological pressure and heat.

What was the impact of the steam engine on coal mining in the 18th century?

The steam engine, perfected by James Watt in 1774, resolved the problem of efficiently pumping water out of deeper mines, allowing for more extensive mining operations.

What are the modern safety measures implemented in underground coal mines?

Modern safety measures include the use of flame safety lamps, separate ventilation shafts with powerful fans, constant monitoring and control of coal dust levels, and the use of equipment such as steel-toed boots, portable methane monitors, and self-rescuers for miners.

What is the significance of the 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act?

The 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act required mining companies to reclaim the land to its original condition after mining, enforcing environmental regulations and preventing environmental disasters.

Outlines

00:00

🏭 Underground Mining Techniques and Technology

This paragraph discusses the process and technology used in underground coal mining. Miners at the Camp Creek Mine in West Virginia travel seven miles through a mountain to reach their worksite, using a rail cart. The continuous mining method, which accounts for nearly half of underground coal mining, is highlighted. This method uses a machine called a continuous miner, which cuts coal from the seam without the need for blasting or drilling. The continuous miner has a rotating drum with cutting bits and is capable of mining what would take a miner in the 1920s an entire day in just one minute. The coal is then transported via a conveyor system to the surface. The paragraph also mentions the long wall mining method, which is even more productive and can recover up to 40,000 tons of coal per day. The long wall machine cuts across a long seam of coal, with a rotating drum that breaks the coal, which then falls onto a built-in conveyor. These machines have revolutionized underground coal mining.

05:02

🌍 Coal's Role in Global Energy and Industry

This paragraph explores the importance of coal in the global energy mix and various industries. Coal is the most widely used fuel for producing steam to drive power plant generators, with about 55-56% of electricity in the country being generated from coal. The utility companies use over 80% of all coal mined in the US. Additionally, coal is used in the production of concrete, paper, glass, and as a fuel in the steel industry. The paragraph also delves into the history of coal mining, tracing its origins back 3,000 years to early civilizations that used coal for funeral piles and heating. The formation of coal from vegetation that grew millions of years ago is explained, as well as the evolution of mining techniques from early surface mining to more sophisticated methods.

10:03

🔨 Historical Evolution of Coal Mining Methods

This paragraph details the historical evolution of coal mining methods. It starts with the bell pit method, which involved digging vertical shafts and creating bell-shaped chambers for coal extraction. Miners used primitive tools like stone hammers, picks, and shovels. The drift mining method is also discussed, which involved tunneling into hillsides to follow coal seams. The paragraph highlights the dangers of mining, such as roof falls and the use of timbers to support the mine roof. The 17th century saw advancements in mining techniques in England, including the use of animals to pull coal carts and the introduction of mine railway systems. The steam engine, perfected by James Watt in 1774, solved the problem of efficiently pumping water out of deeper mines. The paragraph also touches on the early mining operations in America, which initially relied on coal imported from England.

15:05

🚧 The Challenges and Innovations in Coal Mining Safety

This paragraph focuses on the challenges and innovations in coal mining safety. It describes the dangers faced by miners, such as methane explosions, roof falls, and carbon monoxide poisoning. The use of canaries to detect oxygen deficiency is mentioned, as well as the introduction of flame safety lamps and separate ventilation shafts with powerful fans. The formation of the United States Bureau of Mines in 1910 is highlighted, which aimed to improve mining safety through research and technology. The paragraph also discusses the impact of the 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act, which required mining companies to reclaim land after mining. Advances in mining equipment, such as electric hammers, saws, and coal cutting machines, are noted, along with the contributions of Joseph Francis Joy, who invented the mechanical loading system and the continuous miner.

20:07

🛠️ Modernization of Coal Mining Equipment and Practices

This paragraph discusses the modernization of coal mining equipment and practices. It highlights the development of electric-powered loaders, shuttle cars, and roof bolting systems to prevent cave-ins. The evolution of miner's attire, including hardhats with headlamps, safety glasses, steel-toed boots, and self-rescuers, is also covered. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of safety and efficiency in modern mining, with large automated machines and computerized controls reducing the risks for miners. Despite the inherent dangers of underground mining, technological advances have significantly improved working conditions and productivity.

25:10

🏔️ Surface Mining: Techniques, Safety, and Controversies

This paragraph explores surface mining, which accounts for 65% of coal produced in the United States. It describes the highly mechanized operations of surface mines, such as the use of draglines with enormous buckets to remove overburden and expose coal seams. The paragraph also discusses the safety aspects of surface mining, noting that it is generally safer than underground mining due to the work taking place above ground. However, it also touches on the environmental controversies surrounding surface mining, particularly mountaintop removal, which involves blasting the tops off mountains and filling valleys with rock and dirt. The 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act is mentioned, which requires mining companies to reclaim the land after mining.

30:15

🚛 Coal Transportation and Processing

This paragraph details the transportation and processing of coal. It explains that 60% of coal is transported by railroads, often in unit trains that can carry up to 14,000 tons of coal. The coal is loaded into trains at a rate of about 7,000 tons per hour. Other transportation methods include barges, trucks, and direct conveyor systems from mines to power plants. The processing of coal involves removing impurities, crushing and sizing the coal, and drying it through various methods. The processed coal is then ready to be delivered to utility companies.

35:15

🌳 Environmental Impact and Clean Coal Technologies

This paragraph addresses the environmental impact of coal mining and the development of clean coal technologies. It discusses the pollutants naturally found in coal, such as sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and mercury, and the efforts to reduce their emissions. The use of flue gas desulphurization units (scrubbers) and precipitators to reduce sulfur oxides and fly ash emissions is highlighted. The paragraph also touches on pre-combustion methods like coal washing and the use of low-sulfur coal. The issue of global warming and carbon dioxide emissions is discussed, with clean coal technology aiming to address this by burning coal more efficiently and researching carbon dioxide sequestration. The potential of coal gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle technology is noted as a promising solution for making coal a truly clean energy source.

40:17

🔍 Future Prospects and Technological Advancements in Coal Mining

This paragraph looks to the future of coal mining, emphasizing the vast reserves of coal that can last for at least 250 years. It underscores the responsibility that comes with consuming such a vital resource and the need for further technological breakthroughs to minimize ecological damage. The industry, driven by government, science, and environmental watchdogs, is expected to continue developing cleaner and more efficient methods of coal extraction and use. The potential of integrated gasification combined cycle technology, coupled with carbon dioxide separation and disposal, is seen as a key step towards making coal a truly clean energy source.

Keywords

💡Continuous Miner

A continuous miner is a highly efficient underground mining machine that cuts through coal seams without the need for blasting or drilling. It features a large rotating drum with cutting bits that break the coal from the seam. This machine is a significant part of the video's theme as it revolutionized underground coal mining, making it safer and more productive. The script mentions that a continuous miner can mine in one minute what took a miner in the 1920s an entire day to produce.

💡Longwall Mining

Longwall mining is a highly productive underground mining method where a large machine cuts across a very long seam of coal, breaking it apart with a rotating drum. This technique is capable of recovering up to 40,000 tons of coal per day. The video emphasizes its efficiency and impact on the coal mining industry, highlighting it as a current method that has revolutionized the way coal is mined.

💡Remote Control

In the context of the video, remote control refers to the ability to operate mining machinery, such as continuous miners, from a distance. This technology has significantly improved miner safety by reducing the need for workers to be in close proximity to the mining face. The script illustrates this with the example of a miner using a remote to control the continuous miner.

💡Coal Seam

A coal seam is a layer of coal that is embedded in a series of sedimentary rocks. It is the primary target in coal mining. The video discusses how continuous miners and longwall machines cut through these seams to extract coal, emphasizing the importance of coal seams in the mining process.

💡Ventilation

Ventilation in coal mines is crucial for safety, as it helps remove hazardous gases like methane and coal dust. The video mentions the use of large ventilating fans and rock dust application to prevent explosions, illustrating the critical role of ventilation in maintaining a safe mining environment.

💡Rock Dust

Rock dust, made from ground-up limestone, is sprayed in mines to dilute hazardous concentrations of coal dust and prevent explosions. The script describes how the application of rock dust contributes to the surprisingly white appearance of the mine tunnels, highlighting its importance in mine safety.

💡Surface Mining

Surface mining, also known as strip mining, is a method where the overburden (earth and rock covering the coal) is removed to expose the coal seam. The video discusses the development of surface mining equipment and its impact on coal production, noting that surface mines are safer and more productive than underground mines.

💡Dragline

A dragline is a massive earthmoving machine used in surface mining to remove overburden. The video mentions draglines with buckets large enough to park two Greyhound buses side by side, emphasizing their size and the significant role they play in surface mining operations.

💡Overburden

Overburden refers to the layer of earth and rock that must be removed to access the coal seam in surface mining. The video discusses how overburden is removed using draglines and explosives, and how it is later replaced to reclaim the land, illustrating its importance in the mining process.

💡Clean Coal Technology

Clean coal technology involves methods and processes designed to reduce the environmental impact of coal use, such as reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon dioxide. The video discusses various technologies like flue gas desulfurization units and precipitators, highlighting the industry's efforts to mitigate pollution from coal combustion.

💡Gasification

Gasification is a process that converts coal from a solid to a gas, which can then be burned more efficiently and with fewer emissions. The video mentions gasification as a promising technology for making coal truly clean, emphasizing its potential in reducing pollution and contributing to cleaner power generation.

Highlights

Miners at Camp Creek Mine in West Virginia travel seven miles through a mountain to reach their worksite.

Continuous mining is one of the most efficient underground mining methods, accounting for nearly half of coal retrieved by underground mining today.

The continuous miner eliminates the need for blasting or drilling by using a large rotating drum with a shaped cutting head.

Continuous miners are remote-controlled, allowing for safer and more efficient mining operations.

Long wall mining is the most productive current underground mining method, capable of recovering up to 40,000 tons of coal per day.

Long wall machines have a series of cutting heads that break coal, which falls directly onto a built-in conveyor.

Rock dust is applied to mine walls to prevent mine explosions by diluting hazardous concentrations of coal dust.

Ventilating fans are used in mines to remove gases and reduce dust, improving safety conditions.

Coal is the fuel most widely used to produce electricity, with 55-56% of electricity in the U.S. made from burning coal.

Coal mining has a history dating back 3,000 years, with early records of use in funeral piles and whales.

The Bell pit method of coal mining evolved in the 14th century, allowing for safer and more efficient extraction.

The introduction of the steam engine in the 18th century resolved the problem of efficiently pumping water out of deeper mines.

Joseph Francis Joy revolutionized underground coal mining with inventions like the mechanical loading system and the continuous miner.

Modern coal mining equipment has led to greater efficiency and safety, with miners using hardhats with battery-operated headlamps and other protective gear.

Surface mining methods, such as those used in the North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in Wyoming, are highly mechanized and account for 65% of U.S. coal production.

The 1977 Surface Mine Coal Reclamation Act required mining companies to reclaim land after mining, addressing environmental concerns.

Clean coal technologies aim to reduce pollutants from coal combustion, including sulfur, nitrogen, carbon, and mercury.

Gasification and integrated gasification combined cycle technology are seen as promising methods for making coal truly clean by reducing CO2 emissions.

Transcripts

[Music]

to reach their worksite miners at the

camp Creek Mine in East Lin West

Virginia must travel seven miles through

the insides of a mountain

the workers ride a rickety rail cart

through a long cavernous tunnel that is

there I weigh

after their one-hour commute they

finally reached the working face of the

mine

here a monstrous machine with footlong

teeth chews away at the earth this is

one of the most efficient underground

mining methods ever developed continuous

mining this technique accounts for

almost half of the coal retrieved by

underground mining today

[Applause]

the machine called a continuous miner

cuts up the seam of coal from the mining

face eliminating the need for blasting

or drilling it has a large rotating drum

shaped cutting head that spins and

breaks the coal from the seam we're at

the front end of the continuous miner

this is the end of the miner which

actually breaks or extracts of coal from

the face as you can see there's a eleven

and a half foot drum on the front of

this monitor it rotates

it has bits laced on the drum in a

scroll fashion this continuous miner can

mine in one minute what took a miner in

the 1920s an entire day to produce these

powerful machines are remote-controlled

beats mine this remote you can work

anything on this miner that you could

with sitting in the day turn the head on

you grace it up and you turn it to fire

on anything that you could make control

on that mind we can probe through this

box

[Music]

the machine has moving arms that scoop

the coal directly onto a conveyor that

leads to a shuttle car a miner then

drives the shuttle car to a longer

conveyor that carries the coal to the

surface a continuous miner is going to

have different productivity rates but

typically six thousand tons a day would

be a reasonable expectation 200 miles

away in the Bailey mine in Wayne County

Pennsylvania an even more impressive

machine is hard at work the long wall

long wall mining is another approach

used in underground mines perhaps the

most productive current underground

mining method

unlike the continuous miner the enormous

long wall cuts across one very long seam

of coal that is broken apart by a

rotating drum that sweeps back and forth

the coal falls directly onto a built-in

conveyor this technique can recover up

to 40,000 tons of coal per day long wall

machines have revolutionized underground

coal mining the wall wall machine has a

series of cutting heads or shears that

chew away at the coal they got cutting

bits on it and they break the coal that

falls onto a belt line that entire coal

seam is removed and these panels are

about a thousand feet wide on the

average and they will sometimes run as

much as a mile

I call it Star Wars technology early

versions of the long laws were developed

in the late 1950s today of the machine

is completely automated it has a

hydraulically operated steel canopy

that keeps the roof of the mine secure

and moves along with a machine as the

coal seam is cutting the roof and the

mined out areas collapses in a

controlled manner if you can imagine the

early days where you were extracting the

coal using a pick using a shovel to load

it into a wagon that was pulled outside

by a pony is significantly different

than using a remote control with the

joystick to operate a 600 horsepower

continuous miner

today's underground mines look much

different than they did years ago the

Camp Creek shaft mine in West Virginia

is no exception

the walls of the tunnels of this deep

coal mine are surprisingly white instead

of black this is due to the application

of rock dust which is ground up lime

that is sprayed to the mine roof floor

and ribs to help prevent mine explosions

limestone dilutes any hazardous

concentrations of coal dust which can

cause explosions large ventilating fans

also remove any lingering coal dust as

well as methane gas from the surface

huge ventilating fans are used to cause

a pressure differential to pull

atmospheric air from the outside end of

the coal mines ventilation does

primarily two things removes gases from

the mining areas and helps to control

and reduce dust as you can see here

ventilating curtain is used to direct

air in the working phases to where the

employees are performing their duties

coal deposits exist on every continent

including Antarctica it is the fuel most

widely used to produce steam to drive

the turbines of power plant generators

when coal is burned the carbon and

hydrogen naturally found in the fuel

combine with oxygen to produce carbon

dioxide and water vapor

this reaction gives off heat energy

[Music]

about 55 to 56 percent of the

electricity that people use in this

country is made the burning coal the

electric utility companies use more than

80 percent of all coal mined in the US

[Music]

the concrete paper and glass industries

also consume large quantities of coal as

a fuel for heating and powering their

facilities the steel industry is reliant

on coal to produce coke a hard carbon

material used in the manufacture of iron

and steel

the carbon in coal gives steel its

strength and versatility steel is the

sinew of modernity for railroad tracks

locomotives automobiles steam ships the

girders and skyscrapers steel and the

coal that was used to heat the iron to

make it are the essential ingredients an

abundant source of economical power to

create the modern world as we know it

these impressive technological advances

are the culmination of a coal mining

effort that reaches as far back as 3,000

years for a resource that was formed

millions of years ago affectionately

referred to as buried sunshine coal is a

fossil fuel formed from vegetation that

grew in swamps as long as 400 million

years ago this vegetation absorbed and

captured the sun's energy and sank to

the bottom of Marsh areas to decompose

into a soggy dense material called peat

as the surface of the earth changed

geological forces buried the peat under

heavy layers of rock the continuing

pressure and heat transform the

compressed peat into coal when the coal

is uncovered it is located in strata or

seems like the filling in a

multi-layered kick

early civilizations found ways to mine

this buried fuel long before it became

an ample source of electric power the

first records we have of coal being used

and therefore presumably mined date back

about three thousand years ago coal was

used for funeral piles and whales the

Chinese probably used it around the same

period and Aristotle records the rock

that burned so we think that somewhere

between probably 3,000 to 2,000 years

ago coal mining started we have no

record of how it was mined at that point

but we assume that they simply mined the

outcrops of coal word appeared on the

side of a hill or a cliff before 400 AD

coal was burned and used as a source of

heat during the Roman occupation of

Britain and it was being used in America

as early as a thousand AD by the Hopi

Indians in what is now Arizona

they also used coal for heating purposes

and to make their pottery scholars

believe that laborers and peasants both

in England and America dug small surface

pits for domestic fuel but for the most

part wood was still the main source of

fuel

the first recorded mining of coal that

we have written record of refers to see

coals siècles occurred along the beaches

of the scotland and northern

northeastern England and it was simply

picked up where coal seams basically

occurred on the cliffs as the coast

eroded away the coal would have appeared

on the beaches like any other Rock it's

apparent of by the 13th century that see

coals where the first coals actually

taken down to the big cities London

being the major one as a source of fuel

london was starting to run out of

firewood so this sea coal became a

popular replacement the increased need

for coal in other parts of Europe during

the same period was a direct result of

the diminishing supply of forests and

wood as fuel

[Music]

great emphasis was placed on the

development of the coalfields due to the

economics of the time

Cole simply became a cheaper fuel source

than wood at that point miners would now

have to dig to provide an adequate

supply of coal to keep up with a new

demand next with new methods of

retrieval coal becomes the main source

of fuel in the world but not without a

price as the forests of Europe began to

dwindle Cola merged is the only other

source of fuel early miners needed to

find new ways of extracting it the Bell

pit method of coal mining evolved as

early as the 14th century when

monasteries and castles used coal for

domestic purposes the name comes from

the final shape of the excavation miners

dug vertical shafts straight down

through the coal seam where they created

a bell-shaped chamber that allowed them

to extract as much coal as possible

without the roof caving in

these narrow shafts were no more than 30

feet deep and presented few dangers

explosives were not in use yet so the

miners broke through rock and coal with

nothing more than primitive tools such

as stone hammers picks and shovels coal

mining originally was done by hand pick

and shovel the coal was was hacked out

of the coal seam put in baskets where

small children or women could haul it to

the surface in a deep mine a shaft with

a winch crank at the top could lift

buckets of coal out letters were used

for access and candles were the only

source of light the coal was sorted into

different sizes usually by the women and

children

this mining method continued to be used

for centuries drift mines evolved is

another method of coal mining starting

in the 15th century

Jeff mining would have occurred where a

coal seam disappeared into a cliff or

steep side of a hill we're putting in

bell pits would have required the

development of enormous chefs and so the

only way to mine the coal beyond the

outcrop was simply to drive a tunnel in

and follow the coal seam and this would

have been the start of drift mining

drift being the mining word for tunnel

the miners who drift mind again rapidly

learned the basic rules of room and

pillar mining that is you can't make an

opening too wide or the roof will

collapse on you and you have to leave

pillars of coal behind you to support

the roof the most common form of injury

and death was a roof fall in a coal mine

the deeper that a mine went underground

the more difficult it was to keep the

top up to keep the mines safe so that

miners could get in and coal could come

out um the simplest way to do that was

to cut mine timbers properly set in

place with shims at the top and bottom

to ensure a tight fit that was the most

common form of keeping the top off of

the coal miner in the coal mine these

coal mining methods remained relatively

unchanged for several hundred years

it wasn't until the 17th century that

England began to advance mining

techniques up until then

miners hauled coal and wicker baskets on

their backs

then in wheelbarrows or on sleds by the

mid 17th century animals began to be

used to pull coal carts in the English

mines England also introduced mine

railway systems as well as a reliable

system to drain water and prevent

flooding in the deeper minds as they

mined out the near surface coal seams

and they went deeper they started to

encounter large quantities of water and

the systems that they had of pumping

water was so primitive what they really

needed to solve the water problem was a

source of power a pumping system up

until the 18th century water wheels were

the only real source of power

in 1774 James Watt perfected the steam

engine which finally resolved the

problem of efficiently pumping water out

of the deeper mines although the

American Indians had used coal found in

small surface bits as early as a

thousand AD it wasn't until the

Revolutionary War that more

sophisticated coal mining operations

appeared coal mined from small drift

mines in Richmond Virginia was used in

the manufacture of weapons for the

American troops before the war most of

the coal came from England

but even after the American Revolution

Britain continued to provide America

with coal through the early 1800s

Cole was basically imported to the

United States until the war of 1812 in

fact Britain really discouraged the

mining of coal in the United States they

didn't want anybody competing basically

with Britain economically and so what we

have is we have this curious condition

of coal being literally shipped across

the Atlantic when there were enormous

quantities known to exist here in the

United States but after the war of 1812

took very little time before people

started to mine coal here in the US even

though there was enormous quantities of

wood the first record of continuous coal

mining in the u.s. goes back to 1840 in

the Richmond Virginia coal basin

the Americans used the British

innovation of huge steam pumps to drain

water from the deeper mines

however the other problem was the need

to safely ventilate the mines and push

methane out pockets of methane gas

formed millions of years ago are trapped

in coal seams and are extremely

flammable when mixed with air and often

lead to deadly explosions until the

introduction of steam and later electric

fans miners mentholated underground

mines by creating furnaces at the bottom

of the shaft the first working fan in an

underground coal mine probably occurred

in Belgium in developed 1835 they were

powered by steam engines not very

effective but better than the

alternative which was typically the use

of fires to ventilate coal mines the

idea is simply that the fire heats the

air and just as a chimney in a house and

draws the air through the mine

if it's a gas II call mine when the

methane gas hits that fire as it will do

in pockets on occasions you can't have

an incredibly disastrous explosion

another problem a miner's encountered

underground was oxygen deficiency also

known as black damp enter the legendary

canary

the cage was actually used to carry

canary in a coal mine and the canary was

there for what it called black damp the

Pharaon a long time ago that the canary

would die and hello occu before a person

would miners would trim the Canaries

claws because they discovered that the

bird could die from the lack of oxygen

but still grip its perch and appear to

be alive due to the effects of rigor

mortis by the late 1800s coal mining in

America was one of the fastest growing

industries doubling every eight years

most of the mine operators owned

everything else in the small isolated

mining towns including the miners home

leaving the workers powerless and

vulnerable to unsafe conditions

Ruth falls in coal mines underground

explosions fires coal mining was the

most hazardous occupation in

industrialized societies the industry

was slow to adopt a safety underground

bleeding that it would limit production

and limit employment

[Music]

large mining disasters followed the

rapid increase in production the

European mines had already started to

experience methane explosions with

increasing frequency and with more

tragic results as the number of miners

underground grew and as the mines got

deeper the methane content increased

disaster struck American mines beginning

in the 19th century but the worst mine

explosion in the United States occurred

at Matunga West Virginia in 1907 as many

as four hundred and twenty-five miners

died when dynamite was improperly

handled and a blast ignited the methane

and coal dust the enormous number of

fatalities that were occurring him in

Mullins due to explosions and roof falls

and carbon monoxide various other

accidents we had as a result of that in

1910 the US government formed the United

States Bureau of Mines this job was

simply to do research and come up with

improved technologies to greatly enhance

the health and safety of mining at that

particular time flame safety lamps

replaced the archaic canary in a cage

the flame emits an orange glow with

methane is present in the mind and if

oxygen levels are low the flame goes out

separate ventilation shafts with

powerful fans circulating air replace

the dangerous ventilating furnaces coal

dust was linked to black lung disease

also known as coal miners pneumoconiosis

a progressive pulmonary disorder that

builds up over years of inhaling high

levels of airborne dust particles levels

of coal mine dust began to be constantly

monitored and controlled by wetting coal

or by spraying limestone on the walls

these improvements had a great impact on

reducing injuries and fatalities

underground coal mining is not even

among the ten most dangerous occupations

mining is not coal mining today is very

very tightly regulated but it took the

cooperation of the industry labor and

federal and state regulatory agencies to

achieve that record next incredible

advances in coal mining equipment lead

to greater efficiency with the advent of

electricity in the latter part of the

19th century the mechanization of coal

mining began on a large scale

first electric hammers and saws then

coal cutting machines began to appear in

the underground mines but one man in

particular would rise above the others

by developing a series of new inventions

that helped revolutionize underground

coal mining at the age of 12 Joseph

Francis joy followed in his father's

footsteps and went to work in a coal

mine in 1895 frustrated with how hard

and dangerous the work was he became

determined to find a better way by the

time he was 36 years old and after many

attempts he invented the first

successful mechanical Colo ting device

in 1919 we have the first of the

mechanical loading systems that was

really very effective so effective but

it's still widely used today which is

the joy gathering arm loader and this

again was to really revolutionize mining

at that point in history these loaders

would typically load into coal cars the

joy loader was electrically powered and

incredibly effective it wasn't until the

1930s that a gained joy came along and

built the first of the shuttle cars

the joy would go on to accumulate 190

patents in his lifetime many of which

drastically improved underground mining

mechanization one of the most important

was an early version of the continuous

miner in 1947 what we have is again joy

comes up with a machine the first of the

continuous miners the Ripper machine the

Ripper machine basically tore up the

coal no longer did you have to undercut

it how long it did you have to drill it

no longer did you have to shoot it what

you now had is one machine that

literally tore the coal down onto a

gathering arm loader and the loader

simply then loaded the coal out directly

over the back of the machine

and into the shuttle gaara's over the

years joy and other engineering pioneers

reconfigured crude and ineffective

machines that would lead to today's

highly efficient and productive

underground mines after the introduction

of the shuttle car roof bolting systems

were developed in the 1940s roof bolts

help to prevent cave-ins in the

underground mines miners secure the roof

over the mined out area by using a roof

bolting machine

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these bolts are long rods driven into

the roof to bind several layers of weak

strata into another layer that is strong

enough to support its own weight if I

took that coal miner that been asleep

for 40 years into a mind today I think

he would be wide-eyed and absolutely

amazed at the mechanization that has

occurred in the mining environment as

the machinery evolved so did the miner

today's miner must have the proper

attire before going underground this

includes a hardhat with battery operated

headlamp which replaced the open flame

carbide lamp worn by the early miners

a nickels worth of carbide in 1900

lasting about a week he's gonna put

enough in there for about two hours and

so he has to have moisture if he didn't

have any water with him what do you do

is spit in it and you see the settling

gas is what that's making now this thing

is similar to a cigarette lighter but

the only way you could make it burn is

put your hand there and let the gas

build up after you left the gas buildup

in you hit it with your hands make the

flame what he used back then was a cloth

hat and so this was coming hard on his

head especially if he didn't like what

was above him safety glasses are an

integral part of our safety protection

equipment obviously to protect the eyes

from dust or while using hand tools and

that sort of thing we're flying debris

could present an eye hazard our

protection was not a consideration in

the early days other items not available

to the early miner include steel toed

boots a portable methane monitor and an

apparatus called a self rescuer a self

rescuers a device by which a human can

breathe and very low oxygen content

atmospheres and it will provide you the

ability to breathe for a period of

approximately one hour while there have

been many changes in the way coal is

mined one thing has remained constant

the types of underground mines drift

mines have a tunnel driven horizontally

into the side of a hill to reach the

call

slope mines are constructed when the bed

of coal is relatively close to the

surface what is too deep to be recovered

by surface mining shaft mines are the

most common and generally the deepest

some is deepest 3,000 feet

elevators carry workers and equipment in

and out of this type of mind a flat

vehicle called a man trip takes miners

where they need to go once inside these

mines and mine cars transport the mining

machines and sections that are then

assembled underground large automated

machines and computerized controls have

not only led to greater productivity but

they have also led to better health and

safety for the miners physically

removing them from potentially hazardous

situations

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although mining disasters have decreased

dramatically in the last century working

in an underground environment will

always have inherent dangers in the

summer of 2002 the entire country

watched as nine miners in Somerset

Pennsylvania were rescued after being

trapped in a flooded shaft mine for

three days the miners tapped into an old

abandoned mine that contained more than

50 million gallons of water that broke

through but these miners were the

fortunate ones a year earlier in Alabama

thirteen miners died when part of the

mine roof collapsed and caused a methane

gas explosion and there have been more

tragic recent disasters in underground

mines throughout the world next while

underground mining is still a vital

aspect of coal mining in the 1970s

technological advances would lead to new

surface mining methods that would

forever changed the way coal is mined

nestled among the desolate plains and

towering mountain ranges of Wyoming is

the North antelope Rochelle coal mine in

the Powder River Basin the largest coal

mine in the world

this surface mine produces more than 75

million tons of coal a year surface

mines are extensively engineered and

highly mechanized operations accounting

for 65% of coal produced in the United

States most of the coal found in these

mines is recovered making surface mines

twice as productive as underground mines

what we have now is the development of a

mining system basically which is

incredibly cheap and incredibly

productive the idea that you simply peel

away the surface of the earth to expose

the coal seam surface mines didn't

appear until the late 1800s in Danville

Illinois the great technological

development and surface mining goes back

to 1911 with the introduction of the

Marion shovel the first real stripping

shovel before World War two surface

mining wasn't the predominant method of

mining because equipment wasn't big

enough to move the massive amounts of

overburden that to have to be moved in a

surface mined to get to the coal scene

after the war manufacturing processes

led to the development of larger and

more productive surface mining equipment

and by the 70s the size of the machines

increased dramatically

surface mines also tend to be very safe

because most of the work takes place

above-ground in large open areas

eliminating methane explosions and

cave-ins

the coal is uncovered by giant

earthmoving machines that strip off the

overburden the earth and rock covering

the coal

the dragline has an enormous bucket

suspended from the end of a boom which

extends more than 275 feet drag lines

are considered the world's largest

land-based machines some of which have

250 ton buckets that are large enough to

park 2 Greyhound buses side by side

this dragline removes approximately

75,000 tons of overburden

it will take about a month for that

machine to my

is currently to the far wall on the

north end of yet

in most surface mines today the

overburden can also be blasted and

broken apart by explosives placed in

bore holes

we use about 45,000 tons of explosives a

year to blast about 240 million cubic

yards when the overburden is shot we

bring in either our major drag line

stripping equipment or truck shovels the

size of the equipment has increased

where we had a 100 ton truck we have

trucks now up to 400 tons to haul coal

after the overburden is blasted and

removed the exposed coal is then loaded

into trucks by electric power shovels

that are 20 stories high huge trucks

haul tons of coal and covered conveyor

systems deliver the newly acquired coal

to nearby preparation plants

the cut in the mine is then refilled

with a reserved overburden

the site is graded covered with topsoil

and reseeded so that new vegetation can

grow mining companies weren't initially

required by law to reclaim the land

until the 1977 surface mine coal

reclamation act what they did is they

blast the rock above the scene push it

over the side of the mountain expose the

coal seam remove the coal and then just

leave the hole up behind them as an

environmental disaster with the passage

of the 1977 surface mined coal

reclamation act this was no longer

allowed and through a system of making

the mining companies put up huge funds

basically they forced the mining

companies to reclaim the land to

original condition surface mining also

called strip mining has remained

environmentally controversial despite

the reclamation act strip mining

particularly the way that it's being

practiced in parts of West Virginia and

Kentucky today with mountaintop removal

is literally blasting the tops off of

mountains and dumping tons of rock and

dirt into streams and valleys where

miles and miles of streams are being

obliterated the government is not doing

an adequate job of enforcing the

environmental laws that are designed to

protect the mountains and the valleys

this Macra Act is not being adequately

enforced

the mining companies claim that removing

mountaintops and filling in valleys is

the only economical way to get to the

cleaner burning coal while the

government is eager to help the

company's environmentalists and

residents living near the strip mines

continue to fight them

in the meantime new coal mines are still

being developed years of planning are

required before any extraction can take

place once you acquire a lease then it

might take up to 8 to 10 years

just through the permitting process with

the various state and federal agencies

for both surface and underground mines

aerial and satellite photography as well

as radar and global positioning systems

are used in locating the coal deposits

by using computers we enter the

information that we have from the aerial

photography and then the computer will

calculate the volume of material that is

within a given block that's proposed for

mining and that will tell us exactly how

many yards of overburden we have to

remove to get to the coal seam once the

coal is extracted it needs to go through

the preparation process rocks and other

impurities need to be filtered out

through various cleaning procedures the

coal also needs to be crushed sized and

blended large pieces of coal are broken

up into smaller pieces in machines

called breakers and crushers and the

coal is crushed to a size that most

utilities utilize and that's about two

and a half inches or smaller this size

burns most efficiently and most power

plants the processing of coal involves

an intricate network of electric motors

high-capacity belts and sophisticated

sensors which are all linked to

computers after it has been washed the

coal is then dried in one of two ways

either a machine spins the coal drive or

huge vacuum disc builders pull the water

out

the coal is now ready to be delivered to

the utility companies

60% of all coal produced from mines is

transported to its destination by

railroads a large portion is transported

in unit trains 100 or more cars that can

be loaded and unloaded automatically the

coal is conveyed to the load-out silos

and it's flood loaded into trains at the

rate of about 7,000 tons per hour so a

unit train that carries about 14,000

tons can be loaded in about two hours

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14,000 tons of coal is enough to power a

city of 1.3 million for one day

another method of transporting coal is

by barges smaller amounts of coal are

moved by truck or by conveyor directly

from a mine to a power plant I've seen

so many changes just in the last 10

years I never thought we'd be using

explosives to actually move the

overburden I never thought we'd see 400

ton trucks I have no idea what the new

technologies will be but I'm sure we'll

be awed probably by the the new

technologies that will come out and just

in the next 10 years next while

extraordinary advances in coal mining

have led to safer working conditions and

increased productivity the industry

faces a much more daunting challenge

now it has to clean up its act coal has

always had the reputation of being a

dirty fuel but the industry is developed

new technology that can reduce the four

pollutants naturally found in coal

sulfur nitrogen carbon and mercury the

sulfur found in coal combines with

oxygen when the coal is burnt and

produces sulfur dioxides a major source

of air pollution

acid rain is believed to be another

harmful effect of burning coal the

sulfur and nitrogen released into the

air when the coal is burned can combined

with water vapor and form droplets that

fall to earth as weak forms of sulfuric

and nitric acid but as a result of the

new clean coal technologies 95 percent

of the sulfur and nitrogen in coal can

be filtered out before they can escape

into the atmosphere the Clean Air Act of

1970 provided standards for utilities to

meet and essentially required us to

develop many new technologies to better

combust the coal and so that act was a

technology forcing act and we're burning

coal much cleaner today than we were a

prior to that law being passed one

method the utility companies initiated

was the use of flue gas desulphurization

units also called scrubbers these

scrubbers remove most of the sulfur

oxides from the stream of gases produced

by coal combustion before they go up the

smokestacks

the flue gas is sprayed with an alkaline

agent such as lime or limestone the

chemical reaction forms calcium sulfate

which is then removed and discarded

scrubbers are applied to some power

plants and they can reduce emissions of

sulfur dioxide by as much as 90% but the

problem is that there's hundreds of

plants that aren't using a full suite of

state-of-the-art control technologies

and they're emitting pollution at four

to ten times the rate that would be

allowed for a new plant that was being

built today another available but not

fully utilized new technology is the

precipitator which removes fly ash the

dark material that results from

burning coal precipitators are filters

that electrically charged particles to

trap and prevent ash from going up the

smokestacks these precipitators can

eliminate more than 90% of the polluting

elements

a pre-combustion method that can reduce

sulfur content from coal by as much as

30% involves simply washing the coal

after it is mined the waste material is

stored and the water is recycled for

future use by power plants sulfur

emissions are also being reduced by the

increased use of coal found in mines

that are naturally low in sulfur the

coal in Wyoming's Powder River Basin for

example is 10 times lower and sulfur

than most coal from the Appalachian

regions using well sulfur coal from the

West is only part of a comprehensive set

of actions that are needed to clean up

air pollution from coal combustion one

of the reasons that we have been thrust

to the forefront of the coal production

in this country is a little sulfur coal

but we also don't have to wash it so

will many eastern and midwestern

operations will have wash plants we

don't we don't have wash plants another

problem associated with coal combustion

is global warming coal-fired power

plants are the largest source of carbon

dioxide in the United States

carbon dioxide is a heat-trapping gas

that accumulates in the atmosphere

forming a blanket that prevents heat

from escaping and that blanket is

causing temperatures to rise all around

the world and causing our climate to

change clean coal technology will

address the issue of global warming by

one burning the coal more efficiently

and we're also working on technologies

that will sequester the carbon dioxide

so that we can burn the coal and not put

carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

the u.s. is joined with other countries

in researching various options for

sequestering or trapping the carbon

dioxide

one possibility involves directly

collecting the carbon dioxide from power

plants and pumping it into oil and gas

reservoirs or on my noble coal seeds

electric utility companies have spent

seventy billion dollars on coal

pollution control devices most recently

they are trying to find better methods

of reducing toxic metals emissions like

mercury one of the Plainfield

technologies that we can use is

gasification and what that means is we

can use a chemical process to convert

the coal from a solid to a gas it can be

burned in a combined cycle process so it

could be burned at great efficiencies so

the source in the future of really clean

power reliable power will be coal

converted to gas the gasification of

coal seems to be the one thing that

everyone agrees upon

the only technology that I know of that

really has promise for making coal truly

clean is integrated gasification

combined cycle technology coupled with

carbon dioxide separation and disposal

to eliminate the harmful co2 emissions

that are contributing to global warming

we still have close to 500,000 square

miles of coal under our feet enough to

last us at least 250 years with such a

vital resource so abundant the

responsibility that comes along with

consuming it grows further technological

breakthroughs will be needed to minimize

ecological damage hopefully the industry

pushed by government science and

environmental watchdogs will find them

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