Coal Mining Museum Report
PEME 1090: Introduction to Process Engineering
Lisa Kaufman (ID: 200857568)
Module leader: Dr Colin Poole
Date submitted: 12 January 2015
Word count: 1976
Table of Contents
The National Coal Mining Museum 1
Equipment Types 1
Mining Techniques 2
Dangers of Coal Mining 3
Modern Day Coal Mining 4
References 6 The National Coal Mining Museum
The National Coal Mining Museum is based at the site of Caphouse Colliery in Overton; once a fully functioning mine. The museum has an area, 140 meters underground, which has been adapted to demonstration the development and revolution in mining techniques through out the ages. It presents mining techniques from the early 19th century all the way through to the present day. The museum also houses an array of mining machinery and vehicles that has been conserved since its use, which are kept in a gallery above ground. Such machinery includes locomotives, BJD coal cutters, and a seventeen-tonne Dosco Roadheader that was used to cut roadways underground. (National Coal Mining Museum, 2014)
Equipment Types
Coal had been in use far long before the 19th century, however, the arrival of the industrial revolution saw a boom in the demand for coal and as a result coal mining became an enormous and lucrative industry. Nonetheless, the equipment used in the early 19th century was still exceptionally primitive and working conditions were also very harsh.
Shockingly, in those days it was not unusual for entire families to be
When asked to think of coal mining, what comes to mind? A mountain with a hole cut into the side of it with a set of railroad tracks disappearing into it? Maybe an old mine car or two full of some rocks or coal, with a pickaxe and shovel leaning against it. A few guys with hard hats covered in a black powder coming walking out of the mine pushing a car or two full of coal. The technology has advanced but the process is basically still the same as well as the outcome. Coal is retrieved from underground and taken to factories to be burnt to create electricity or to fuel the steel mills.
Coal became the fuel that fired the furnaces of the nation, transforming the Appalachian region socially and economically. Unfortunately mountain people didn't realize the implications of their mineral wealth. Many sold their land and mineral rights for pennies an acre to outlanders. Appalachians became laborers rather than entrepreneurs. Coal became a major industry which was extremely sensitive to outside fluctuations in the economy, leading to boom and bust cycles. The industry was controlled by interests outside the region, so that little of the profit remained or was reinvested.
After a considerably large renovation, the coal mine now has the Rahall Company Store, visitor center, a coal museum, a fudgery, and gift shop. Many features include mining artifacts and tools, photographs, and various artifacts from the coal town of southern West Virginia. The main attraction of the Exhibition Coal Mine is a tour that takes visitors 1500 underground. The tour shows visitors the history of coal mining from the early hand-loading days to modern-day mining. Visitors can also take a tour throughout the coal camp. Here they can explore the Coal Company House, Superintendent's Home, Pemberton Coal Camp Church, and the Helen Coal Camp School. The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine is a great way to discover how life in the area was in the early 20th
During the late 1800s iron mining was at its peak and was most profitable. Minnesota had some of the biggest mines in the U.S.A. In all in the late 1800s the U.S. had mined over 42.5 BILLION metric tons of iron. This was mostly due to the fact that new equipment came out that made iron ore mining easier and faster.
Initially, charcoal and wood were used a fuel source, but as those resources became scarce, coal became a necessity. As shown in Document 1, England was fortunate enough to have a readily available coal supply that other countries in Europe were not able to have. As England became industrialized, more coal was needed to fuel steam engines and furnaces. The development of factories and the improvement of the steam engine also increased the demand for coal. As a result, coal mines that were once mined at the surface, now got deeper and deeper, and there was too much water to safely get more coal. When the Newcomen engine was put into use at the coal mines, coal was put into the steam engine to pump more coal out. Similarly almost every other piece of technology in that time period used coal as the main fuel source so the need for coal skyrocketed. Document 4 explains how England had the natural conditions necessary to succeed such as coal, which is a major reason the Industrial Revolution started in England and not in any other
Coal discovery dates to the 1300s with the Hopi Natives. This would prove significant some five hundred years later when coal became the predominant source of power in the mid to late 1800s. This would prove even more significant when the Government started surveying the landscape for the best route for the Transcontinental Railroad in 1853. Upon completion of the research, one thing the scouts made clear was the presence of coal in Wyoming and some of the western states. To run supplies from the eastern states to the west they needed the presence of coal to be close and readily available for the coal fueled trains. This played a major role in the industrial revolution the United States was about the experience.
The mining industry was especially popular because it supplied coal, which heated the buildings. The railroads created a faster way for the tools to reach the mines and for coal to reach the people, which means the miners could work faster. Timber was valuable to the mining industry because after the tracks were built, large amounts of coal were needed because coal made the train engines run. Timber was also needed to support the walls of the mines, and hardwood timber made tools such as the long tom and the sluice box. The logging industry helped the mining industry grow tremendously because it made the mines safer and was able to speed up the
The west was swept by enormous change after the civil war. There was a lot of mining that was started because gold and silver was discovered and when people heard about it, many people poured into an area that was ill prepared for their arrival.
The Britannia Mines has played such a major role in the building blocks of British Columbia’s economic development and early history. Behind the unforgotten community that once flourished with 60,000 miners of different races and religions, lies a rich history that captures the hearts of many who pass by one of the most successful copper sites of its time. With that being said, the legend behind the discovery of affluent minerals in Britannia Mines is by a doctor who was searching for gold in the year, 1888. After many failed attempts to set up a mining industry, the Britannia Mine and Smelting Company Ltd. took interest in this discovery and developed operation systems and communities. The Britannia Mines in the 1920s became such a successful
Coal was originally discovered in West Virginia in 1742, but wasn’t mined for economic benefit until the late 1800s. Coal occurred in most of the state’s counties and the coal boom brought in waves of laborers and their families. The work was hard and dangerous and the pay was not enough to justify the dangers of the occupation. These poor working conditions and unfair compensation would lead to riots, strikes, and civil incursions that would eventually attract the attention of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). The UMWA was started in Ohio in the late 1800s, but moved into West Virginia in the early 20th century. There were many influential figures within the organization, most notably John L. Lewis. Lewis was president
Donkin, a vast coal reserve that stretches for dozens of miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean, was originally dug by the now defunct Cape Breton Development Corporation (DEVCO) (Jamasmie, 2015) Kameron Collieries closer to reopen massive coal mine in Canada 's Nova Scotia.One of the first mining operations in the area was in Schooner Pond in 1863, when the Acadia Mines opened and began production from the Emery coal seam; the coal was exported by ship until trains began to take coal to the docks at Sydney in 1874. Nova Scotia Canada: Donkin Export Coking Coal Project. In 1863, the Clyde Mine opened in the area now known as Port Caledonia; all mining operations in the area ceased after the miners ' strike of 1925 after the mines closed, workers traveled to the Phalen and Lingan mines to continue working. Department of Natural Resources Call for Proposals Issued for Donkin Coal Resource Block. During the early 1980s, there was a push to develop the coal deposits extending out under the Atlantic Ocean from large audits initiated on the coast; large scale tunnel burrowing machines were used to provide access to these high quality coal fields. Department of Natural Resources Call for Proposals Issued for Donkin Coal Resource Block. Numerous consultants
Railroads that were once operated by horse and wagon were finally made into steel tracks for steam trains to carry goods. This was especially important to the coal industry because it made the jobs of the miners much safer than before. Small railways made of steel were formed underground to transport the coal out of the mines by the use of small railcars. The idea to use steel in the process of transportation was nothing new at the beginning of the industrial revolution. Britain was known to have vast amounts of steel and had been working since about 1800 on using steel as tracks and a train or buggy type to transport things.
Huntley and Avondale Collieries are existing underground mines in the Illawarra coal fields of New South Wales. Both mines are on care and maintenance at present but with an improved financial outlook, the existing infrastructure and the location of the mines in relation existing coal mining infrastructure, an opportunity to reopen the mines is available. A financial model for the reopening of the mines based on provided economic conditions, historical
Throughout the century British coal had become increasingly costly and difficult to mine. Nationalization in 1948 had not altered this. Indeed, there was a case for saying that lack of government investment since that date had added to the problem. For some time Britain had been importing coal from abroad. With the exception of few pits producing particular types of coal, British mines by the 1970s were running at loss.
Coal, a mineral I have discussed previously, is necessary to our everyday lives. Coal is an incredible source of energy; it heats our houses and buildings, and also fuels stoves. You may often wonder where this extremely useful mineral comes from. Coal does not just appear; it needs to be mined through a process which results in our being able to utilize it. Coal mining is fairly inexpensive, is carried out on a large scale and can be mined in either underground or surface mines.