The document discusses various mining techniques and their environmental impacts. It describes how minerals are identified and land is acquired for mining under the 1872 Mining Law. Surface mining techniques like open-pit, strip, contour, and mountaintop removal mining are outlined. Subsurface mining techniques like room-and-pillar and longwall mining are also summarized. The document discusses the impacts of mining such as scarring of land, erosion, subsidence, water and air pollution from acid mine drainage and slurry pond spills. It provides an example of reclamation at an abandoned coal mine in Pennsylvania.

1. Mining Practices and Impacts Derrick Willard

2. Why do we mine minerals?

3. Coal Types & Uses

4. Coal Found in 32 States Valued for energy and steel production

7. Q. Just how much land are we talking about? A. About 270 million acres (or 1/4 of USA)

9. Methods of Coal Mining

10. US Mining Trends

11. Pros and Cons Surface Subsurface -disturbs large area -produces large amounts of spoil -relatively safe -cheaper -more efficient -disturbs much smaller surface area -spoil often left in mine -dangerous -expensive -less efficient

13. Overburden Removal

14. A Dragline Shovel

16. Open Pit Copper Mine near Silver City, NM

17. Area Strip Mining

18. Area Strip Mine (Coal)

19. Contour (Bench) Strip Mining

20. Contour Mining in KY “ Highwalls”

21. The “New” Technique

22. Mountaintop Removal Mining

23. Mountaintop Removal and Valley Fill (WV) The top of a mountain has been pushed into a valley

24. Mountaintop Removal Coal Mine in Southern WV

25. Mountaintop(s) Removal near Kayford Mountain, WV

26. Mountaintop Removal-Up Close (spoil pile)

28. Subsurface Mine Types

29. Longwall Mining

30. Longwall Mining Machine

31. Room and Pillar Mining

32. Room and Pillar Mining

33. Room and Pillar Mining Machine

36. Scarring in Tennessee

37. Subsidence over a Coal Shaft in Colorado

38. Coal Mine Subsidence in Colorado

39. Centralia, Pennsylvania (where a coal vein fire started in 1961)

40. Centralia, Pennsylvania (Helltown, USA)

41. Centralia, Pennsylvania (almost abandoned)

42. Centralia, Pennsylvania (Highway 61)

43. Acid Mine Drainage *results when the mineral pyrite (FeS 2 ) is exposed to air and water, resulting in the formation of sulfuric acid and iron hydroxide

44. Slurry Pond Spill in Kentucky October 2000

46. Reclamation Restoration of abandoned surface coal mine in Pennsylvania- now wild game lands