Day 4: Road Trip to the Coal Mine, NOT going down, down, down.

Today we took an excursion to the Coal Mine.

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It was very interesting to see how the process takes place.  Lignite is what is mined there.  All this time, I thought it was an underground process, but it is not.  It is more like strip mining.  

 However, they go to great lengths to replace what they take out.  Here is a picture of mined land that has been restored.

 Here can be seen the oldest land (which has been reclaimed) to the newest (in the distance on the horizon). It was a spectacular view.

Just to give you an idea of how massive some of this equipment was:

I stand about 5'11" and the middle of this truck wheel comes up almost to the top of my head.

We also learned about how the lignite was formed over millions of years by the compaction of prehistoric swamp land.  They have even found petrified wood within the lignite.

I learned a lot about mining.  We even did an experiment on porosity and permeability.

If I were ever to use anything related to mining in one of my classes, I think it would be something like this:

https://www.msha.gov/training-education

Just to study the regulations and requirements as they are today compared to what came before in the days of black lung disease and literal canaries.

I'm also curious about the environmental impact.  With all of the emphasis on replacing the land, are there any environmental factors that may be getting overlooked.  

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/10/lusatia-lignite-mining-germany-lake-district

This is an article about how a lignite region in eastern Germany has recovered after being strip mined.

I might also consider this:

https://www.mininghistoryassociation.org/