Introduction
An estimate of 861 billion tons of coal deposits exist worldwide. According to the present rate of production, this amount can last for 112 yrs contrary to the oil and gas reserves that will last for fewer years approximately 45 to 54. Several countries in the world have coal reserves found in the biggest ones are China, Russia, USA and India. To prove recoverable reserves, engineers drill on the ground hence technically and economically extractable.
In contemporary times, reaching peak coal is questionable due to fall in the ratio of reserves to production. The point when there is maximum worldwide coal production, and after that an irreversible decline, that is when peak coal is experienced. However, current fall in the Reserve Production ratio accredits to lack of inducement to prove the existence of reserves, rather than lack of coal capital. Mining companies with short planning horizon rather than state-funded geological surveys carry out exploration activity for coal reserves. All fossil fuels will in the end disappear it is therefore essential that people use them wise and efficiently.
There is the need for advancement of coal reserves through a number of developments such as trying to discover more deposits and improved exploration. These advances in mining techniques will allow reaching out to inaccessible reserves. Discovery of Coal reserves is through exploration activities that involve creating geological maps of a particular region then carry out geophysical, and geochemical surveys eventually followed by drilling. If the area is large with sufficient quality coal and economically recovered, it ends up becoming a mine hence mining begins (Singh 552). The energy generated by coal gives it its value in the society. It is widely used in producing electricity, steel industries use it as fuel to extract iron while cement industry use it for cement production.
In the past days, extraction of coal from underground was manual through men tunneling and digging on long open cut wall mines. Currently, mining requires the use of trucks, jacks, draglines, shearers and conveyors. It is economical to use the best extraction methods, which depend on the quality, depth, environmental factors and geology of the seams. Currently, there are two major types of coal extraction methods namely deep underground and surface mining. The choice depends on density, depth and thickness of the seam. Open cast mining method is the best for coal seams near the surface and recovers a great proportion of coal deposits than underground. US open cast mines extract bituminous coal while other countries like South Africa and Australia use it for metallurgical and thermal coals. Overburden is the earth material above the coal streams removed to reach the coal. After a strip of land finishes with coal mining, the overburden removed previously is used in refilling the open strips. Coal extractors put explosives in drill holes and blast them while draglines, trucks, bucket wheels, excavators, conveyors and shovels remove the overburden. At the same time, the equipments depend on geological conditions (Sear 116).
Deep underground seams require underground mining that accounts for 60% world coal production. Pillars along the streams use remote controlled equipments like mobile roof support hydraulics that protect the miners and their equipments from injury if there happens to be cave-ins. Over 50 countries mine coal for commercial purposes with most of it used in the country of origin while 16% of hard coal exported. Through technology advancement, coal mining is more productive hence; highly skilled and well-trained personnel are required to use complex equipments and instruments (Singh 576).
Environmental Impacts
Sophisticated sensing equipments checks on the quality of the environment safety replacing the previously used miner’s canaries. Mining has a long history of causing disasters; therefore, it is a dangerous activity. More than 100,000 people died in mine accidents over the past century. Accidents in open cast mines are due to vehicle collisions and wall failures while underground hazards are because of gas poisoning, suffocation, gas explosion and roof collapse. Firedamp explosions trigger very dangerous coal dust explosions that can engulf the whole mine. Modern mining techniques reduce the rate of deaths and accidents in mines. China that leads in coal mining is witnessing high deaths related to mine accidents (Rajaraman and Jeffrey 449).
Miners suffered in the past chronic lung diseases like pneumoconiosis also referred to black lung that reduced life expectancy of miners. A mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide in mines eliminate oxygen from the atmosphere causing suffocation. Fire damp consists of methane a flammable gas that explodes at 5% to 15% and when it explodes at 25% it causes asphyxiation. Modern mining has reduced explosions, rock falls and toxic air through improved mining techniques, monitoring hazardous gases, gas drainage, ventilation and electrical equipments. Despite all these advancements, mining remains the second dangerous occupation in America (Han, Micheline and Jian 236).
The environment suffers due to coal mining since it eliminates genetic soil profile, vegetation, destroys habitat and wildlife, alters land uses, permanently changes the topography of the area and degrades air quality. Mine tailing dumps produce acidic mine drainage that seep aquifers and waterways resulting to human and ecological health problems. Subsidence of land surface is because of collapse of mine tunnels. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is released in the air causing global warming and nutrient cycle process disrupted by redistribution of the soil and microorganisms. Trucks cause noise and dust pollution on coal crushing, unsealed roads drilling operations and wind blowing over the mining area (Sear 146).
Refurbishment and fabrication of mining equipment save the investment and overhead costs correlated to expensive machinery. Coal mining equipments have advanced tremendously in the recent years reaching environmental and efficiency precautions impressing innovators and manufacturers to progress in recent years (Han, Micheline and Jian 247).
Coal prices
Historically, Coal prices have always been lower and more established than gas and oil prices. It is likely to remain the most reasonably priced fuel for power production in many industrialized and developing countries for decades. Up to date there is the exploration of coal reserves to discover more coal deposits since its demand is rising due to its raw price as compared to other fuels worldwide
Work Cited
Han, Jiawei, Micheline Kamber, and Jian Pei. Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques. Burlington: Elsevier Science, 2011. Print.
Rajaraman, Anand, and Jeffrey D. Ullman. Mining of Massive s. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Print.
Sear, Lindon K. A. Properties and Use of Coal Fly Ash: A Valuable Industrial By-Product : Coal Fly Ash, or Pulverised Fuel Ash, from Coal-Fired Power Stations : the Production, Properties and Applications of the Material. London: T. Telford, 2001. Print.
Singh, R D. Principles and Practices of Modern Coal Mining. India: New Age Publishing, 2005. Print.
