How Is Coal Mined in Kentucky?
There are four mining methods typically used in the state of Kentucky: area mining, contour mining, mountaintop removal and underground or deep mining. The area mining method is commonly used to mine coal in the flat to moderately rolling terrain found in western Kentucky. In this method, the overburden is excavated down to a coal seam, and then the mining area is enlarged horizontally to expose and remove the coal. Large draglines are commonly used to scoop and move overburden onto an adjoining previously mined area in one motion. In some mining operations overburden is removed with power shovels, bulldozers or scrapers instead of draglines. The ridges formed by the dragline as it dumps the overburden are regraded with bulldozers. Then topsoil is spread to provide a finished surface similar to the surface before mining.
