Black or Bituminous Coal

Black or Bituminous coal is a fossil fuel. Black coal is a dark substance with a powdery finish around it, it is also soft coal. Bituminous coal has been around developing for many millions of years, underground inside Earth. In modern times black coal is one of the main resources used to power electricity etc. However like most things coal has its disadvantages, for example there is a limited supply of coal around the world and the pollution coal causes to the environment.

The formation of Bituminous coal occurs over hundreds of years. Black coal is formed from the remains of plants that died millions of years ago. Due to ancient forests growing rapidly the trees and plants that died before them got over lapped and covered underground. When more time had past some regions moved downwards further into the ground. Layers of vegetation that were low enough got covered with water containing sediment, gravel, sand and mud. Over hundreds and thousands of years the weight of the soil, rock and the high temperatures removed most if the water from the plants. The remains are called peat over many more years the peat is compressed, the compression of the peat increased the temperature drying out anymore water. See Fig. A for a diagram

Extracting coal from an underground mine is a very important part of getting the coal. However there are many ways in which you can extract the coal from the mines. The most economical of methods of coal extraction from coal depends on the depth and quality of the seams, and also the geology and environmental factors of the area being mined.

If the coal seams are near the surface, the coal is extracted by strip mining. Strip mining exposes the coal by the advancement of an open pit or strip. As the coal is exposed and extracted, the overburden from the still covered coal fills the former pit, and the strip progresses.

Most black coal seams are too deep underground for open cast mining. In deep mining, the room and pillar method progresses along the Mammoth coal vein seam, while pillars and timber are left standing to support the coal mine roof. A most dangerous method of operation in deep mining and is known as robbing the pillars. This is where miners attempt to remove and retreat between the timbers in order to get coal out of the main coal seam, allowing the roof to cave in.

Highwall mining is a form of coal mining in which a continuous miner is controlled remotely from outside the mine, and is guided along the seam straight back drilling holes in excess of 500 feet. A highwall is the unexcavated face of exposed overburden and coal in a surface mine. As the coal is sheared off the face of