Slope mining coal - Research Proposal Example

However, with surface depletion of coal and the receding of the levels at which coal strata are found to deeper underground, slope mines are more commonly being used (ThinkQuest, 2006). Slope mining of coal is the process by which coal is tapped from the coal bed or coal seam lying deep under a mountain or ground surface, through an inclined opening on the mountain side. From the opening, a slanting tunnel that is bored through the rock strata present over the coal, down to the coal seam, is used for mining the coal.

If the stratum of coal is inclined and exposed to the surface of mountain side or ground, the slope mine may be created along the coal layer (MSN Encarta, 2008). If the gradation of the slope is steeply inclined, transportation of the coal out of the slope mine is carried out by an electrically operated belt conveyor system or an electric hoist and steel rope. If the slope has a gradual incline, coal transportation is undertaken by using a trolley locomotive running on tracks (MSN Encarta, 2008).

In Figure 1. above, the mine shaft slanting down to the coal bed is seen. Through the slope tunnel, conveyors transport the coal out of the mine. In cases where there are two shafts as seen in the above diagram, special commuting devices are used for transporting the men in and out of the mine through one shaft; while the coal is taken out through the other (ThinkQuest, 2006). Transportation of the mined coal to markets or ports are mainly by railroad, road, shipping, slurry pipelines, and long distance conveyor systems which though useful, can accommodate only limited tonnage of coal and run from one source to only one destination.

“As the overland distance to the coal deposits increases, the costs become greater and the coal becomes less competitive” (Clark: 28). According to world reserve statistics, coal is the second most abundant fossil found in nature. The cost of coal mining depends on mine characteristics,