coal mining

Table of Contents

Introduction
History
- Ancient use of outcropping coal
- Developments in mine entry
  - Shafts
  - Hoisting
- Ventilation
- From manual to mechanized extraction
  - Conventional mining
  - Development of continuous mining
  - Origins of longwall mining
  - Roof support
- Haulage
  - Manual labour to electric power
  - Mechanized loading
  - Conveyors
- Preparation
Coal deposits
- Formation
  - Coalification
  - Major coal eras
  - Rank and grade
- Resources and reserves
  - Distribution worldwide
  - Economic factors
Prospecting and exploration
- Mapping
- Drilling
  - Spatial patterns
  - Core drilling and rotary drilling
  - Dozer cutting
- Geophysical exploration
Choosing a mining method
Surface mining
- Mining methods
  - Contour strip mining
  - Area strip mining
  - Open-pit mining
  - Auger mining
- Equipment
  - Dozers and scrapers
  - Drilling and blasting
  - Shovels and trucks
  - Draglines
  - Wheel excavators
  - Coal removal
  - Reclamation equipment
Underground mining
- Mining methods
  - Room-and-pillar mining
  - Longwall mining
  - Shortwall mining
  - Thick-seam mining
- Auxiliary and unit operations
  - Access
  - Ground control and roof support
  - Haulage
  - Ventilation
  - Monitoring and control
  - Health, safety, and environment
Coal preparation
- Levels of cleaning
- Preparation steps
  - Characterization
  - Liberation
  - Separation
  - Disposition
Coal transportation
- Railroads
- On-highway trucks
- Barges
- Conveyors
- Slurry pipelines
- Electric wire
- Ships

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Mongolia: coal mine

The harsh realities of coal mining in the early 20th century

Children hauling coal up the slope of an English mine; from an engraving of the 1840s.

A longwall miner shearing coal at the face of a coal seam; from an underground mine in southern Ohio, U.S.

Inserting steel bolts to support the roof of an underground mine in West Virginia, U.S.

The never-ending underground fire of Centralia, Pennsylvania

Schematic diagram of a flotation separation cell.

coal miner loading a drill hole with an explosive

company-owned coal miner homes, Holden, West Virginia, 1920s

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coal mining summary

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coal mining: Related Content

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Last Updated: Jun 09, 2025

News •

Coal mining fear sparks unexpected conservation boom in Mpumalanga • June 8, 2025, 11:34 AM ET (Daily Maverick)

Photos and Videos

Mongolia: coal mine

Children hauling coal up the slope of an English mine; from an engraving of the 1840s.

A longwall miner shearing coal at the face of a coal seam; from an underground mine in southern Ohio, U.S.

Inserting steel bolts to support the roof of an underground mine in West Virginia, U.S.

Schematic diagram of a flotation separation cell.

coal miner loading a drill hole with an explosive

company-owned coal miner homes, Holden, West Virginia, 1920s

Haybro, Colorado: coal-mining pit

The harsh realities of coal mining in the early 20th century

The never-ending underground fire of Centralia, Pennsylvania

Learn how Poland's rich mineral resources sulfur and bituminous coal are mined

Discover how Teddy Roosevelt scored a victory for American workers by intervening in a coal miners' strike in 1902

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Topics

longwall method self-contained self-rescuer thick-seam mining shortwall method room-and-pillar mining longwall cutter advancing longwall method retreating longwall method longwall shield continuous room-and-pillar mining coal liquefaction coal utilization bituminous coal subbituminous coal anthracite lignite sapropelic coal coal classification maceral brown coal

Key People

Amelia zur Helle Thyssen

German industrialist and philanthropist

August Thyssen

German industrialist

Hardie, drawing by Cosmo Rowe; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

J. Keir Hardie

British labor leader

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th earl of Shaftesbury, oil painting by George Frederic Watts, 1862; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th earl of Shaftesbury

British industrial reformer [1801–1885]

Stinnes, Hugo

Hugo Stinnes

German industrialist

Arthur Cook, 1926

Arthur James Cook

British labor leader

Thyssen, Fritz

Fritz Thyssen

German industrialist

Rhondda

David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda

Welsh industrialist

William Reid Clanny

British physician

Neal Shover

American academic

John Scott Haldane, drawing by Tom van Oss, 1930; in a private collection

John Scott Haldane

British physiologist

Frederick Augustus Abel, engraving.

Sir Frederick Augustus Abel

British chemist