How Is Coal Mined?
As was the case 50 years ago, most coal is produced from two major types of mines– underground and surface. But the methods for recovering coal from the earth have undergone drastic changes in the past 25 years, as a consequence of technological advances. Fifty years ago when most coal mining was done manually, underground mines accounted for 96 percent of the coal produced each year. Today, almost 60 percent is produced from surface mines. Most underground mines in the United States are located east of the Mississippi River, although there are some in the West, particularly in Utah and Colorado.
