Coal miners have a very physically demanding job. They work in coal mining sites that usually have hazardous conditions. The coal mine and the surrounding man-made structures are known as the colliery, and coal miners spend almost all their work hours in the colliery.
The history of coal mining goes back to the 2nd century when the Romans exploited some of the major coalfields in England and Wales. In North America, coal was used by the Hopi Indians to bake clay pottery items . Before the 19th century, picks and shovels were used to mine coals from the underground, but the invention of coal cutting machines in the 1880s brought a new mining process to the fore. However, it was not until the Industrial Revolution that modern mining methods such as deep shaft mining were incorporated. In the US, the first commercially mined area was located in Virginia’s Midlothian, where mining activities were carried out during the 18th century. The UK’s Tower Colliery in South Wales is considered the oldest deep mine, and it was continuously mined from 1805 to 2008.
Underground mining is by far the most popular mining method in the world today. This is used when the coal is too far underneath the ground for extraction. There are three types of underground mines, namely, slope mines, shaft mines, and drift mines. A slope mine has a slanting tunnel built to connect the coal seam to the surface. The shaft mine is the most common type of underground mine, and it is a long and wide hole drilled from the surface to the coal seam. A drift mine is almost always built on one of the sides of a mountain, because the coal seams lie very close to the surface of a mountain.
Moreover, there are several primary methods of underground mining, and they are longwall mining, blast mining, shortwall mining, and retreat mining. In longwall mining, a large machine called a continuous miner is used to drill through a coal layer. Blast mining deploys explosives such as dynamites to break open a coal seam. Shortwall mining involves the use of mining machines with roofs that can be moved, and retreat mining involves the extraction of pillars that support the mine roof, forcing the mine roof to collapse.
Many surface coal mining techniques are also still used today. Strip mining is one of them, and this involves the removal of strips of earth that lie above the seam of coal. Contour mining is rather similar to strip mining, but the earth above the coal layer is removed in contour pattern along the ridges of hills. On the other hand, mountaintop mining entails the removal of the top layer of a mountain to reveal the underlying coal seams. Yet another method of mining is the room and pillar mining, where numerous rooms are cut into the seam of coal, and coal pillars are constructed to support the roofs of the rooms.
The work of coal miners is always precarious. A number of disasters have happened in coal mines throughout history. Hundreds of lives of coal miners have been lost due to gas poisoning, collapsing of roofs, collision of vehicles, and even suffocation. Besides, several coal miners die every year because of the adverse effects of coal mining. China seems to be one of the places where coal mining accidents are rampant . In 2004, more than six thousand Chinese coal miners were reported dead.
The extracted coal is chiefly used for the making of electricity in most countries around the world. Billions of tons of coal are expended by our planet each year for the production of electricity. The coal that is used for generating electricity is generally referred to as thermal coal, whereas coal that is used for steel manufacturing is called metallurgical coal. Coal is also used for making methanol, which is used extensively as antifreeze and solvents in industries.
The daily work of coal miners is very laborious. The whole day is spent drilling holes into coal layers, either for extracting coal or planting explosives to blow up a segment of coal layer. The job also necessitates loading the extracted coal into cars. Apart from conventional coal miners, there are some other specialists who work side-by-side with the coal miners. The blacksmiths are occupied with repair jobs ; the brakemen or trip-riders help to transport loaded coal cars; and the pump-men look after the pumping equipment.
Today, the work of coal miners in developed countries is safer because of modern technological advancements. Such technologies do not only protect the workers from hazardous conditions, but they help enhance the productivity of miners as well. Cutting-edge machines, computers, and safety monitors ensure that the coal miners’ health is not jeopardized when they are working in coal mines. The modern coal miners are also highly trained, and certain mining jobs require a one-year degree in college.