How is coal mined?
Mining is the process of removing coal from the ground.
There are two types of mining: underground mining
and surface mining. When the coal seam is fewer than
125 feet under the surface, it is mined by surface mining.
Coal that is deeper than 125 feet is removed from the
ground by underground mining.
Surface Mining
Surface mining is used when a
coal seam is located close to the
surface. Heavy equipment is
used to clear the land of trees,
shrubs and topsoil.
The truck will take the topsoil to a
special place where it will be saved
until mining is finished in this area.
Then the topsoil will be replaced so
plants can grow again.
Holes are drilled into the rock
and explosives are placed in
these holes. The explosion
breaks up the dirt and rock
called overburden.
Safety inspectors carefully
monitor the drilling and blasting
process.
Large earth-moving machines
move the overburden to expose
the coal seam.
When the coal is uncovered,
bulldozers and shovels scoop
up the coal and load it into
large trucks. All of the coal is
mined. When the trucks are loaded, they will haul the coal
to the preparation plant.
In 2000, there were six surface mines in Illinois. The surface mines
produced 3,800,000 tons of coal and employed 330 miners.
After mining the topsoil is replaced for plants and wildlife to grow
again.
Land that has been mined can be used in
many ways.
Underground Mining
Underground mining is used when the coal seam lies deep in the
earth. In an underground mine only
some of the coal is removed. The
coal that remains helps support the
mine roof.
Underground mines look like a
system of tunnels. The tunnels are
used for traveling throughout the
mine, moving coal from place to
place and allowing air to circulate in
the mine.
This is a diagram of an underground
room and pillar mine.
The coal that is mined is
put on conveyor belts. The
conveyor belts take the coal
to the surface.
It is very dark underground.
A conveyor belt takes coal out of the
mine. The pillars are covered with a
white powdered limestone to prevent
spontaneous combustion.
There are three types of underground mines: slope, drift, and shaft.
When the coal seam is close to the surface but too deep to use
surface mining, a slope mine can be built. In a slope mine a tunnel
slants down from the surface to the coal seam.
In a slope mine, the miners
and materials ride in special
cars to get to the coal seam.
A drift mine is built when the coal seam lies in the side of a hill or
mountain. Drift mines may also be built in a surface mine that has
become too deep. There are many drift mines in the eastern United
States.
The most common type of
mine in Illinois is the shaft
mine. These mines may be
125 to 1,000 feet deep. A
large hole, or shaft, is drilled
down into the ground until it
reaches the coal seam.
The shaft can be 30 feet in
diameter.
Men and materials ride an
elevator down to the coal
seam at a shaft mine.
Two Types of Underground Mining
In Illinois, two types of underground mining are used: room and pillar
mining and longwall mining. Room and pillar mining leaves pillars, or
blocks, of coal in the mine to support the roof. In longwall mining the
roof is allowed to collapse in a planned sequence. More coal is mined
during longwall mining.
Continuous miner
machines are used to
cut the coal in room and
pillar mining.
This continuous miner is
operated by remote control.
Continuous miners
have a large rotating
drum that moves up
and down. Strong bits on the drum cut the coal. As the coal falls,
large arms under the drum gather the coal onto a conveyor chain. The
conveyor chain carries the coal to the back of the machine.
The coal is unloaded at the back of the machine onto ram cars. The
ram cars haul the coal to a conveyor belt.
Left to right: ram car and continuous miner Below: rotating drum with bits that cut
the coal.
Longwall mining removes more coal than room and pillar mining.
Large panels of coal are extracted. The panels are 750 to 1,000 feet
wide. The continuous miner cuts tunnels 18 to 20 feet wide.
The longwall panel shows how
much coal the longwall mining
machine cuts.
The longwall machine
has large shields that
support the roof and
protect the miners during
mining.
The shields are shown in yellow in
A rotating the pictures.
drum, called a
shearer, cuts the coal. The coal drops
onto a conveyor belt. As more of the
coal is cut, the machine moves forward.
The roof behind the machine falls in a
planned order.
The shearer is shown in orange. It shears the
coal away. The conveyor belt is shown in gray.
In 2000, there were 12
underground mines in Illinois.
The 3,131 employed miners
produced 29,700,000 tons of
coal.
Corn and soybeans grow above
this underground coal mine.
A Math Code Word Puzzle
2 4 10 1 3 2 4 5
+9 -3 -5 +3 -1 +6 +6 -4
4 5 8 5 2 5 12 5
+5 +1 +4 -3 +4 -1 -7 -2
7 2 5 6 7 5 1
+7 +5 +3 +1 -2 +8 +7
Letter Code
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
0 I R L A N E S U F C D M G
---- -- ----- -- ----- -----
DIRECTIONS: Add or subtract the problems and then find the answers
in the letter code. Put the letters on the dotted lines. Write the decoded
sentence on the line below.
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