Coal mining
Coal mining is the extraction of coal from underground seams or surface deposits for use as fuel and industrial raw material.
Longwall mining: An underground coal-mining method that shears coal from a long face while hydraulic supports hold back the roof. It is a highly mechanized method for extracting extensive, relatively uniform seams.
Coal-fired power station: A power plant that burns coal to produce steam and generate electricity. Electricity generation has been a major destination for mined thermal coal.
Black lung disease: A chronic lung disease caused by inhaling coal mine dust, especially coal and silica particles. Dust exposure makes it a defining occupational disease of coal mining.
History of coal mining: The development of coal extraction methods, labor systems, and mining regions over time. Its history traces the shift from shallow workings to industrial-scale extraction.
Anthracite: A hard, high-carbon rank of coal that burns with relatively little smoke. Its properties differ from lower-rank coals commonly mined for power generation.
Room-and-pillar mining: An underground mining method that removes coal in rooms while leaving pillars to support the roof. Its layout balances coal recovery against the need to support underground workings.
Coke (fuel): A porous carbon-rich solid made by heating coal without air, used chiefly in ironmaking. Coking coal is mined as a feedstock for producing this blast-furnace fuel.
Mine safety: The practices, regulations, and equipment used to prevent injury and death in mines. Explosions, collapses, and machinery accidents have driven safety reforms.
Industrial Revolution: A period of major economic and technological transformation beginning in Britain in the late eighteenth century. Coal powered steam engines and factories that accelerated industrialization.
Lignite: A low-rank brown coal with high moisture content and relatively low energy density. Its low energy density favors large surface mines near power plants.