Becoming a Coal Miner (Friday)

Oh My Goodness!!!!  Today was the BEST day ever!!  If I didn't have a career, I do believe I would be applying to become a coal miner. 

Today we were able to go underground at Rocksprings Development in East Lynn, WV.  I know from the media and the horrible accidents that have happened over the last 10 years, that coal mining has gotten a bad rap.  Coal miners themselves have to.  But as I stated yesterday, don't form any opinions until you have checked all the facts yourself. 

We first went through safety training learning how to use our self rescuers.  We were also taught how to find others that are stored underground.  Each rescuer would last 30 minutes and they are placed at intervals throughout the mine so you could pick up another one if you needed it.  There were also "tents" that you could get in (I believe that they said 35 miners could fit in) placed certain distances apart.  The amount of safety techniques that have been implemented were amazing.  Things like "Man Doors" and "guide lines" all made me feel completely safe while I was under ground.

They took us about a mile underground.  We rode on a rail for part of the way and then wheeled buggies after that.  The ceilings were about 14 feet high so you didn't feel closed in.  They explained to us how the ventilation in a mine works and how some "rooms" had to be blocked off to force the air to flow in a safe manner, allowing fresh air to come in and "bad" air to flow out.  The Man doors I mentioned earlier were located in these walls to allow for escape if necessary without interfering with the air flow.  Once we got out of the car, the fun began.

We were shown the continuous miner first.  If you have been watching the "Coal" show on SPIKE TV, then you know what I'm talking about.  Being able to stand right beside the machine as it "chews" the coal off the face was such an awesome experience.  Literally, I was brought to tears.  It is such an awesome piece of machinery.  As the miner mines the coal, a sensor on the front of the miner (called a sniffer) sniffs for methane.  There is a visible screen on the back of the miner that shows the level of methane in the mine.  If certain levels of methane are present, the miner automatically shuts down.  Miners themselves also carry a smaller methane detector as well.  Once the (continuous)miner is ready to mine coal, a shuttle pulls up behind it under the conveyor and the miner loads the coal onto the shuttle . . . approximately 4 to 7 tons of coal were loaded in less than a minute.  Even thinking about it now gives me goose bumps. (that was for you Dan!). 

Next we were shown how they place the roof bolts that help hold the "top" up.  The roof bolter was a huge piece of machinery too.  On the front of it, it had a "tree" that worked with hydraulics to help hold the roof up as the bolting was taking place.  It reminded me of a waitress using her fingertips to hold up a tray.  The bolter was on a platform that was placed in the center of the roof bolter machine.  (they said they used to have one where he was on the side but there was a risk of the "rib" or wall of the mine caving in on the miner).  This platform would raise up and down making it easier for him to put the bolts and glue in the hole once it has been drilled.  The platform also had a metal roof over it so none of the "top", if it fell before bolted, could harm the miner.  Once the hole was drilled, he would put in a long skinny "bag" of glue.  It was two different colors and once the bolt started turning, it would pierce the "bag" and mix the stuff together making a bonding agent that helped to hold the bolt in and fill any cracks that may have been made in the drilling process.   The bolter was so good, he could tell just by watching the drill, how much "hard top" or "soft top" he was drilling through.  If there wasn't enough hard rock to drill through, then they had to use longer bolts and drill further into the roof of the mine.  They also showed us how they kept kettle bottoms (petrified tree stumps) into the top. 

They then took us to show us the scoop.  It essentially does the clean up in the mine, both at the face when the mine if finished and at the conveyor where the shuttle dumps it.  It is also a very intricate job!  We were also shown how the mines are marked so that they can keep the "rooms" in their proper coordinates.

A lot of knowledge is needed for what seems like a simple process . . . mining.  Too many people look at miners and see them as "dumb", but what I saw today was far from that.  Even being at the mine was a welcoming experience.  Every miner that I talked to was so welcoming and proud of their chosen profession . . . and I would be too.  I would definitely be proud of my child if they were to become a coal miner.  I'm anxious to go back myself.  I even asked about summer work and they said "sure".  I don't think they thought I was serious!!!

Surface Mining Techniques (Thursday)

Today was an eye-opening experience.  Up to this point, my vision of surface mining had been influenced by lots of negative opinions.  Even my trip to Joe Knob the other day seemed to feed that negativity.  BUT . . . today was a turning point.

We visited a surface mine . . . Coal Mac, which is part of Arch Coal.  We were first shown a slide show of their mining techniques, production accomplishments, and reclamation efforts.  Of course, as with the negative sides, anyone can pick the best pictures and say accomplishments are being made.  The idea of a surface mine having a positive impact was still out of the picture.  Then we started driving around the mine.  Yes, there was a lot of dirt, rocks and barren space but then we started coming to areas that were recently finished with mining.  Grasses were growing, birds, bugs, and evidence of other wildlife (bear poop!!) began to show.  Finally we reached the destination  . . . a reclaimed site only 6 years young.  And what a surprise I saw.  A hill that I couldn't tell any differently from unmined hills.  If it had not been pointed out to me, I don't think i would have known it.  Truth be told, I think it was in better shape the the original hills surrounding it.  It was beautiful.  My point of view on surface mining changed at that moment. 

We then drove on around and saw part of one hill that had been left flat on the top so that pasture land could be made available for a horse farm.  Something that would never have been found in the Logan area anywhere.  This was such a great opportunity for someone to be able to be successful in a place riddled with flood planes everywhere.  I was disappointed to hear from Coal Mac that acreage had been planned for agricultural development (flat farmland in Logan!!) but the permit for that had been pulled and they were now going to have to put the mountain back.  What a disappointment for an area that otherwise cannot be successful at having a working farm area.  An opportunity washed away, not by coal mining, but by environmentalist.

I would like to say to all that oppose surface mining, that before you make your judgements, you need to get the information for yourself.  Sometimes the opportunity for the community to improve itself and keeping the environment intact are views that need to be pondered.  Everyone complains about what surface mining does to the mountains, but all along the way on this trip, I traveled along roads that were cut through the mountains and the areas that were cut look just like surface mining . . . but it's never put back.  Why is that destruction of the hills is ok, but surface mining (that reclaims or repurposes the hills for the better of the community) is considered wrong?  I think some people that have that agenda are walking around with blinders on.

The second half of the day we went to a coal processing plant to see how coal was cleaned and particles or waste was taken out of the mined coal.  It was very interesting to see how many steps are taken to get the coal "cleaned" before it is shipped out.  Today was an awesome day.

Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine (Wednesday)

Today we visited the mine and had a wonderfully witty guide named Marvin!  He was such a sweetheart and so down to earth.  The mine showed us a lot about the early history of mining and what it was like for miners that mined this mine and before.  Then we toured the coal camp houses to see what it was like for a miner of the early 1900's to live.  It was very interesting to see the improvements of equipment over the years.  However, the mine does not show how modern mining is done.  That's what our next stop would do . . .

This is Marvin, our wonderful tour guide.

This is a picture of the "Bachelor house" that would have been typical in a mine camp in the early 1900's

Our second stop of the day was at a highwall mining equipment manufacturer.  What an awesome piece of machinary!  It was good to see that something used nationally was manufactured right in our own back yard!!  It stood three stories tall and can mine over 1000 feet underground by itself . . . no men underground.  Everything is run by computer on the deck!  Can't get much safer than that!  But . . . this type of machine makes it safer to mine, it also takes away jobs of miners and I find that a sad con to such a technologic piece of machine.

This is a picture of the machine . . . notice it is so large, it has its own deck on top!

This is the view from the upper deck.  Everything is ran from the control room in the middle of the picture . . . all computerized! 

We then drove to the Courthouse where Sid Hatfield and Ed Chambers were assassinated on the steps on their way to a court appearance.  I am absolutely loving the opportunity to see such historic places in my own home state. 

After that we drove to Matewan to inspect the site of the Matewan Massacre.  We spent some time here looking at the forensics behind the shootings, trying to determine . . . who really shot who?  We then drove to Williamson to look at the rail yard (it was HUGE) and see the coal house . . . a building made completely out of coal!  That was unique.

Here is an exerpt of the Matewan Massacre by Steve Beckelheimer and our guide, Mike Little.

We had a long late day but it was worth it to see the history in this part of the state.   Oh . . . I forgot the MOST important.  If you've been watching the "Coal" show on spike, we drove past the headquarters for Cobalt Coal!  We didn't even know we were going to.  I got a pic, but it wasn't very good.  AWESOME again!!

Enjoying our New Books

My Experience so far . . .

I have to say, that before starting this class, I was probably more "pro" coal.  But the more I'm spending time in the actual mining "environments", I seem to be swaying more towards the "anti" side.  I'm beginning to wonder what my opinion will be by the end of the week.  I've learned that I assume a lot about the mining process and that sometimes pictures aren't worth a thousand words.  Because, I've seen pictures of coal mines and the environment surrounding them and they don't always show the "true" story.  Just like any business.  Along on our trip we have had the blessing to have a wonderful, knowlegeable man, Mike Little, to give us the history of the area as well as a perspective of each aspect of the mining process.  From what the mine operators objectives were/are and how they are able to prosper, to the environmental issues and why some things appear to work and some things do not.  He's opened my eyes and I think has made me a SMARTER West Virginian!!  Thanks Mike!!

Nuttalburg . . . a deserted mining community

Well, the second half of our day was much nicer.  After a roadside picnic lunch, the sun began to peak through the clouds.  It was wonderful to see but . . . that also meant the heat was coming back!  We drove down some little roads off of Rt 60 to get to this abandoned mine.  We drove a little distance and then had to park the vans and walk the rest of the way (once again causing the temperature to rise . . . ours :)  Nuttalburg is found on the banks of the New River.  Even though this was not a surface mine, you could tell immediately the difference in the diversity of plants when the environment is left for nature to take its course.  Look in the background of the following pictures to see the variety of plant species and then compare it to the Joe Knob pictures.

This picture shows the foundations of what we assumed to be the company store or some other important building within this small community.


This is the road we had to walk to get to the tipple.


As we got closer to the mine, there was construction being done on a new parking lot and trails for exploring the history of this community.  For safety reasons, we were not allowed to go any further.  This was as close to the tipple that I could get to take a picture.


If you want to see pictures of the mine, click on the link below.
http://www.coalcampusa.com/sowv/river/nuttalburg/nuttalburg.htm

Joe Knob, Anjean WV

Today we started out with a trip to Joe Knob surface mine specifically to compare the biodiversity to other mine sites we have visted the past two days.  We had planned on taking some water samples and doing some testing but the pouring rain and lightning kinda kept us in the van.  This was my first up-close look at a surface mine and to be honest, I was really overwelmed by the size of the operation.  A lot of times when I see pictures of surface mines, it's always just a small snapshot of the enormous operations.  Until you've seen one up close, I don't really think you can imagine the scope of it.

Anyway, back to the biodiversity.  We drove to a part of the mining operation that had been "reclaimed".  When  I've hear about reclamation before, I always imagined the mine operators and the environmental groups working together to "put" the land back to as close an environment as it was before the mining process started.  I was amazed to see this really was not the case.  As you will see in the pictures below, it looked very much like an assembly line had been formed when planting the trees . . . and they all looked the same.  I couldn't see any diversity among the tree species, and this is definately NOT like it was before the mining took place.  I was immediately dissappointed in both the mine operators and environmental agencies for not using, what seems to me, common sense!!  I can't see how they think this type of reclamation can sustain the organisms that should be living in that environment.  I guess I could go on and on but I want to share some of the pictures so maybe you can understand what I'm talking about.

In this first picture, you can see that there is not a very diverse tree population.  It doesn’t look natural or “feel” natural.  It looks like an orchard, not the natural ecologic progression you would expect.

In this next picture it shows a lot of grasses and vetch.  At first glance this would appear to be a wonderful grazing ground for the deep population.  However, deer do not like the grasses and vetch that are growing here.  Another “What?” that popped into my head.  Why would this be introduced, if it isn’t a benefit to the organisms in this environment?

It made me wonder what kind of regualtions are there for reclaiming surface mines.  I guess I have a lot more to research to do to find the answers to my questions.

Downstream and falls

As we headed further downstream from where we were taking water samples, the pyrite in the water was becoming more apparent.  You can see the "yellow" in the creekbed.  If you pay attention to the rocks on the side of the creek, you can really see the difference in color.


Just showing the size of the falls with Bonnie on the side.


Just another picture downstream showing the "yellow" color.


Even these falls show the yellow in the creek . . . but they were beautiful!!

Water quality upstream

In this picture, we are getting ready to get our samples and compare them to readings other groups downstream were collecting.


In this picture, you can see where the water that is coming from the mining process that caused the water to turn brown.  Pyrite is the cause of the color change.  We measured the pH in both the brown area (it was 3.7) and in the green area ( it was 5.7).  Quite a difference!!

Vernal bog Water Quality

This picture (not sure why it is sideways) is a picture of the pool or spring with its own little ecosystem.  I was really impressed with the biodiversity of this former mining area.

Water Quality testing

Our first stop of the morning, we divided up into groups testing the water quality of the waters of Yellow Creek.  Our group tested water in what is called a vernal bog.  A spring that appeared to be clear and have good water quality. During our testing we measured the dissolved oxygen in the water, the turbidity of the water, the temperature, the pH, and the total dissolved solids (conductivity) or the water.  We then calculated the Q value of our water sample based on all the measurements together.  We found that the quality of our spring was considered good.  We would then use these measurments to compare them to the water quality near the abandoned mines at the coke ovens.

Coketon-Douglas Coke ovens

Today we visited a site to see many abandoned coke ovens in a community known as Coketon-Douglas.  All the coke ovens were built into the side of the hill. Coke was made from coal in a process in which the coal was heated to high temperatures, without the presence of oxygen.  The coal was basically "baked" until the impurities were burned off but the carbon was left behind.  This allowed the coke to burn at an intense heat producing little smoke. This allowed the steel industry to use "carbonized coal" in their processes. Coke and iron ore would be mixed together, and then burned in a furnace. As the coke burned, it would remove the oxygen from the iron ore, converting it to metal.    

Coketon Douglas coke ovens

The  inside of a coke oven. There was a coating of residue on the insides of the ovens.  Some more than others.



This is what the ovens looked like from the outside.  There were different ways to build the ovens.  this type is called Beehive.  The hole in the top was the access to put the coal in. 

Parsons Windmill Video

Thomas pictures

This is a picture of Thomas taken from what used to be the rail bed for the railroad.


This is all that's left of the No. 3 mine in Thomas.  As far as we know, it is the only shaft mine in the area.

First Day cont. . . Thomas, WV

Our next stop was once a booming mining town.  It was amazing to be standing in the streets looking at original buildings but seeing them in partial (and sometimes complete) ruin.  I went in one of the restaurants there and was in awe of how so much of the original architecture was still intact (decorative tin ceilings, original beadboard wainscoting, etc) But the ruins of the #3 Mine were still there.  Hard to believe how much the economy in an area can change so quickly because of one commodity.  The history of these coal towns is always interesting.  I can't wait to visit more.

Windmills in Parsons, WV

First Day In the Field . . .

First day was soooo interesting!  We went to the windmills in Parsons, WV.  We had to estimate the speed of the windmill tips.  I estimated them to be spinning at 15 mph.  After calculations . . . over 120 mph!!  Isn't that wild?!  Then we went closer to them and I found that the closer we got, the faster they appeared to spin.  It was a beautiful thing to see!  I'll post pics next.