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How does surface coal mining prepare land before coal is removed?
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coal mining
Schematic diagram of an underground coal mine, showing surface facilities, access shafts, and room-and-pillar and longwall mining methods.
Before coal can be extracted through surface mining, the land undergoes a specific sequence of preparatory operations to expose the coal seam. This process generally involves the following steps:
- Clearing: The land is first cleared of all trees and vegetation.12
- Soil Removal: The top layers of unconsolidated soil, known as topsoil, are removed and stored for later use in reclamation.1
- Drilling and Blasting: Workers drill into the hard strata—referred to as overburden—that lies above the coal. These layers are then fragmented using blasting with explosives.12
- Removal: The blasted material is removed, often using equipment such as draglines or power shovels, to expose the coal seam.134
- Cleaning: Finally, the top of the exposed coal seam is cleaned before the coal is fragmented and loaded for transport.1
Depending on the terrain, this may involve creating a "box cut" in flat areas or establishing a bench along a hillside in contour mining.56