Why do we surface mine in Central Appalachia? It’s certainly not because we like the public

attention and we really don’t enjoy the struggles with regulatory agencies, the years of permitting

delays and the seemingly endless litigation. The fundamental answer is that coal is surface

mined because that is the method necessary to recover the resource.

Why do we surface mine a coal seam or group of seams instead of deep mining that reserve?

The answer is generally determined by geology and topography. However, in many cases the

coal reserve has been previously deep-mined and surface mining recovers what was left. Surface

mining through abandoned deep mines, recovering the blocks of coal that were left decades ago,

is relatively common. Contour mining along the outer boundary of old deep mines has been a

widespread practice for years. The advent of the highwall miner, which is a more productive

successor to a coal auger, has encouraged this trend.

Back to geology and topography – how do these factors determine whether a seam is surface

mined or deep mined?

Among the many geologic variables are coal thickness, expected mine roof conditions, and the

vertical distance between coal seams. Some coal seams are just too thin to deep mine.

Frequently, the rock overlying coal seams higher in a mountain is broken or unconsolidated,

making the roof too weak to allow safe underground mining. Coal seams occurring too close

together can make deep mining impossible. A coal seam that lies beneath the local valley floor

(“below drainage”) will not be a candidate for surface mining in central Appalachia but deep

mining may be a possibility.

Figure 1 is a photo of an actual surface mine highwall illustrating the coal seams and intervening

rock. Figure 2, which was taken from an exploratory drill hole on a surface mine project, shows

the various types of rock and the coal seams that appear inside the mountain.

utilities generally purchase coal on the basis of competitively bid supply contracts of one to three

years duration. Price adjustments are made for coal characteristics such as ash and sulfur content

and heating value.

A mine operator has little control over the sales price for its product, some control over the

mining cost, and can sometimes adjust the mine plan to alter the effective mining ratio. Most

Appalachian surface mines use combinations of mining methods such as mountaintop removal,

area mining, and contour mining where appropriate to develop an effective and economical

overall mine plan. Different types of equipment (rubber-tired loaders, hydraulic shovels, electric

shovels, etc.) are matched to the specific mining application based on capabilities. For example,

it’s common to use shovels to excavate thick strata near the top of a ridge but use rubber-tired

loaders due to their mobility to contour mine lower on the mountain. Striking a balance between

the more expensive cost per cubic yard of the smaller equipment with the more efficient larger

equipment is a key to successful surface mining.

Now, let’s talk about jobs. It’s popular among opponents of Appalachian surface mining to say

that more miners would be employed if we stopped surface mining and switched to underground

mining. It’s true that surface mining is more productive than deep mining. Using Mine Safety

and Health Administration (MSHA) data for the first three months of 2009, WV surface miners

produced 3.99 tons per employee-hour compared to 2.94 tons per employee-hour for WV deep

miners. (See page 16 at

stated, 120 surface miners could mine 1 million tons per year while 163 deep miners would be

required to produce the same output (1,000,000 tons / tons per employee hour / 2080 hours per

employee per year).

Let’s imagine that a 10 million ton block of coal could actually be mined using either deep or

surface mining methods. Surface mining would recover about 80% of the reserve, so 120 miners

could work for eight years (960 employee-years) to produce eight million tons. Deep mining

would recover about 50% of the reserve due to the requirement to leave pillars and barriers in

place, so 163 miners would be employed for five years (815 employee-years) to recover five

145 jobs for one year would not be created. In addition, the overlying seams that are too thin or

too close together or too near the top of the mountain to deep mine would be recovered by

surface mining, so the actual tonnage and longevity of the surface mine would be greater. The

argument that deep mining creates more jobs simply breaks down when one considers all of the

factors involved.

It’s also often quoted that surface-mined coal from Central Appalachia makes up only a small

percentage of the nation’s total coal production so we should just eliminate this form of mining.

However, in 2008 Central Appalachian surface mining produced almost 131 million tons, or

11% of the 1.17 billion tons of U.S. coal production, not an insignificant amount. (See Table 3

West Virginia surface mined 69 million tons of coal in 2008, so using a conservative guess of

$50 per ton for the average sales price, the state’s 5% severance tax alone generated $172.5

million, which again is not an insignificant number in the state budget

The 6,164 surface mine workers (per MSHA records) in West Virginia who were directly

employed at the mines producing that tonnage probably consider themselves and their families

significant also. And, let’s not forget the thousands of indirect jobs that are supported by surface

mining. The folks who sell and service mine equipment, prepare and monitor mine permits,

plant trees, sample water, sell and deliver fuel and supplies, haul coal by truck and rail, and even

the attorneys who provide legal services, all consider themselves significant.

That’s why we surface mine – it’s not easy, it’s not cheap, and it’s not quick but it’s the method

that works to produce over 40% of Central Appalachia’s coal output.