Coal Camp Blog

Cranberry

Cranberry is one of the few mine shafts in its area of Raleigh County WV. It’s in the New River Coalfield and was originally Cranberry Fuel Company owned Cranberry but then the New River Company owned it. The original company store burned down in 1927 and was soon replaced. This store closed September 1, 1958 soon after the mine closed and now houses an antique store. The mine reopened in the late 60’s but closed “for good in 1973.” (http://www.coalcampusa.com/sowv/river/cranberry/cranberry.htm) Cranberry’s slate dump was sold by New River Company to Bill West.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nylasgenealogy/coalmining.html

Surface Mining

There are three types of surface mining; strip, contour, and mountaintop.

Strip mining is used when coal is near earth's surface or when overburden is unstable. This is an easy method but overburden is placed in previous mine cavities.

 

Contour mining is a type of strip mining that follows the contour of a hill or mountain (hince the name contour). This leaves terraces in the mountainside but these terraces are seeded and vegitation is grown. http://www.ohiodnr.com/procedure_b/tabid/17894/Default.aspx

 

 

Mountaintop Removal is the most contriversial method of mining. Tops of mountains or hills are removed to access horizontal coal seams. Overburden is pushed to areas between high elevations and the original contour is not restored after reclamation. This method is very effective at getting coal but completely recontructs the land and often messes up streams and landscapes below the mountain or hill. http://www.mountainjusticesummer.org/facts/steps.php

Underground Coal Mining

There are five types of underground coal mining; drift, shaft, room & pillar, continuous, and longwall.

Drift mining is when the mine enters the seam horizontally, following the coal and is possible where coal seams intersect the surface. An advantage of drift mining is that gravity helps pull the coal down but cave ins are a constant threat. http://www.greatmining.com/drift-mining.html

 

Shaft mining is the most common method used in W.V. Elevators provide access to mines which are commonly 1000+ ft below the surface. These mines reach some of the lowest seams of coal but there is always the threat of mine collapse.http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal_mining.htm

Room & Pillar mining leaves nearly half the coal behind to support the roof. Room and Pillar mining is fast and simple but pillars sometimes squeeze leading to roof collapse, which is a constant danger. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-room-and-pillar.htm

Continuous Mining is a form of room and pillar mining that uses a machine that has a rotating steel drum with tungsten carbine teeth and can mine 5 tons of coal per minute. These machines are paired with conveyor belts to transport coal to the surface. But as with regular room & pillar mines there is a constant danger of roof collapse. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-room-and-pillar.htm

Longwall mining or retreat mining is a very efficient method of mining. A huge machine supports the roof with hydraulics as it removes the coal. This removes more coal than room & pillar mining but as soon as the machine is removed the roof falls. http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coal_mining.htm

Formation of Coal

The formation of coal is a very lengthy process that starts with dead swamp plants. These plants get buried in the swamp but do not rot because of the anaerobic conditions, which mean there is no oxygen. This process creates peat, which is the coal precursor that can be used but is not very good for heat. Peat is then covered in sediment and compressed nearly 80%. From peat, lignite, or brown coal, is formed. This has low carbon value (higher than that of peat) and is used for electric power generation. After lignite comes bituminous, or black coal, which is the most common form of coal. It has a high carbon value and is coked for the steel industry. Anthracite, or hard coal, comes next and is a result of bituminous metamorphosis. This has the highest carbon content and a low smoke value. Coke is a coal product which comes from bituminous coal being heated in 2000 degrees Celsius and is used to produce energy/heat for the steel industry.