Day 4 Field trip to Coal Mine

Day 4
Field trip day!  We headed  to a nearby coal-mining operation. I was expecting a mine shaft, but it was more like a strip mine. We learned that the mining process protects and even improves the environment in this area. They had an award-winning reclamation area where they had constructed a meandering stream. Wildlife was voluntarily re-introducing itself into the area. In one excavated area there was bass trophy lake where employees could fish.

After a delivery lunch, we toured the mine in our vans. We snapped pictures of ourselves beside the monstrous dump trucks used to move dirt and lignite.

The dump truck pictured is for transporting dirt. The 600 series trucks have a larger bed because they transport lignite which is lighter than dirt since it's full of moisture. The middle picture above is the drag line at work. The pan is so large it can hold two full-sized vehicles. The bottom picture show the giant Wirtgen machine, like an asphalt breaker on steriods. It is loading dirt into a dump truck. The drag-line machine weighs 8 million pounds and uncovers coal seams 24 hours a day, 363 days a year. It takes two operators who share a twelve hour shift, two hours on, two hours off. They alternate because of motion sickness from swinging the bucket (which can travel 80 mph.!). The machine itself travels 1/8 mph but doesn't need to move quickly.

The operation transport the lignite to an adjacent power company. This type of operation is called 'mine-mouth',  meaning the material is used nearby. The lignite is full of moisture so it is not economically feasible to transport it long distances.

Another coal mining operation is starting up in a nearby county. That mine will be a 'green' mine.
Geology has always been fascinating to me so I loved the tour and knowledge I gained. We did a lab about porosity and permeability when we returned from the tour. We found that clay held the moisture. This holds with the reasoning that clay-type soils are good for pond-building.

Future plans - bring my nephew to the mine to add to his knowledge of environmental biology. He recently graduated from college with a degree and he is searching for a place his job skills could be applicable. How about reclamation?