What are the steps in mountaintop removal mining?

There are 6 main components of the mountaintop removal process:

  1. CLEARING. Before mining can begin, all topsoil and vegetation must be removed.
  2. BLASTING. Many Appalachian coal seams lie deep beneath the surface of the mountains.
  3. DIGGING.
  4. DUMPING WASTE.
  5. PROCESSING.
  6. RECLAMATION.

What happens during mountaintop removal?

Mountaintop removal is a radical form of coal mining in which the tops of mountains are literally blasted off to access seams of coal. It takes place in the Appalachian Mountains, one of the oldest mountain ranges on Earth.

How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mining?

Mountaintop removal coal mining is a destructive form of extracting coal in which companies use heavy explosives to blast off hundreds of feet from an ancient mountain ridge to access thin seams of coal below.

What is mountaintop removal mining quizlet?

What is mountaintop removal? A destructive form of extracting coal in which coal companies, using heavy explosives, blast off hundreds of feet of an ancient mountain ridge to access thin seams of coal below. Clearing. Before mining can begin, all topsoil and vegetation must be removed.

How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mines quizlet?

How is coal extracted from mountaintop removal mines? Dynamite is used to break apart rocks and then draglines are used to remove the broken rock and reach the coal.

How is coal extracted?

Coal can be extracted from the earth either by surface mining or underground mining. Once coal has been extracted, it can be used directly (for heating and industrial processes) or to fuel power plants for electricity. If coal is less than 61 meters (200 feet) underground, it can be extracted through surface mining.

Where does mountaintop removal happen?

Where is mountaintop removal happening? Mountaintop removal takes place primarily in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia, and eastern Tennessee.

What is the safest mining method?

In-Situ Mining This technique causes very little disturbance to the surface and does not produce large amounts of waste rock. To use this technique, the ore body must be permeable to the extraction liquids, and it must be possible to complete the process without the significant risk of contaminating nearby groundwater.

Which of the following methods of extraction is the most damaging to the environment quizlet?

Surface mines are the most damaging to the environment, because they cause the greatest amount of change to the land. Surface mines involve the removal of earth to extract minerals, often leaving a gaping hole behind.

How does mountaintop mining affect the environment?

Of all the environmental problems caused by mountaintop projects — decapitated peaks, deforestation, the significant carbon footprint — scientists have found that valley fills do the most damage because they destroy headwater streams and surrounding forests, which are crucial to the workings of mountain ecosystems.