Problems in coal mining
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Coal mining cannot be done everywhere with coal, due to certain restrictions.
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[edit] Dip of strata
Due to current machinery, a temporary support on the machinery is put in place on one side of the wall. However, this temporary support is at right angles to the machine and if the coal seam is too steep, then the temporary support will not be able to withstand the pressure.
[edit] Faulting
If a fault hits a rock with a coal seam inside, the coal seam moves. Machinery trying to mine the coal may not be able to get at it if the coal has faulted off anywhere but to the side (if it is above or below it cannot manage this).
[edit] Water table
If the water table is too low, the mine is full with water. While mining, water needs to be constantly pumped out and this is expensive.
[edit] Washout
If a distributary or river changed course and cuts into the swamp material that will form coal, the coal seam is not fully formed and there may be a problem with mining it.
[edit] Thickness of seams
If the seams are too thin there may be an economic problem with mining it (it is worth less than the cost of the workers or petrol and is worthless.
[edit] Splitting of seams
If the seam splits, due to a delta collapsing, sand and silt sediments pile up on top until that area is covered by coal again. This may make all or part of the coal seam uneconomical to mine (as it is too thin).
