Strip mining is when machines and explosives remove a few layers of land that is covering the source of coal. The debris is dumped in an area close to the mining area. This is a quick easy way of mining, but is very destructive. This damages the area and hurts animals and water sources.
Contour mining is done when the seam to the coal is one a slope of a hill and you need to remove overburden to get to it. This is good if you need to get to the seam, but it can lead to landslides since the overburden removed is usually piled up in front of the mining site.
Mountaintop removal mining is what it sounds like. It is removing the tops of mountains and hills with explosives to get to seams for coal mining. It is a very quick method of retrieving coal, but is absolutely awful for the land. The overburden removed from the explosion is placed in valleys by the mountain which hurts animal environments, causes floods, and pollutes water streams.
No comments:
Post a Comment