How big is a Coal Mine?

In this picture you can see a small portion of a coal mine. Most big mines are ten times this big. The mine Kadizzle used to work in now goes from the Ohio River in West Virginia for miles under Pennsylvania.


With the recent mine disaster Kadizzle thought he would write about coal mining this morning. Many people imagine a coal mine as a bunch of guys at the end of a single tunnel with picks mining coal. It just is not true. When a mine goes anywhere there are usually six tunnels heading in the main direction. Each of these six tunnels is connected about every fifty feet. Miners actually call them entries, and the connections are called crosscuts. After the main entry is established, this is the one the air and coal will be moved through, then the sections begin. A section is like a huge side branch where coal is extracted. Again six entries are driven up the middle of the section, while rooms are driven off to the side. Several sections at once may be working. In no time at all you have miles and miles of tunnels. One crew can typically mine four hundred feet in one day. So you see coal miners are working in a vast maze. To add to the confusion, all the air has to come in one set of tunnels, and all the exhaust has to go out another. So there are two separate air courses. Many days Kadizzle worked underground and was clueless where he was or how in the hell to get out. When miners ride a mile or two into the mine they are in enclosed cars, so there are very few clues where you are going. Finding your way out of a mine without a disaster could be hard, but in a panic even worse. There have been more than one case where people thought they were going out, and were actually going in. On a couple occasions Kadizzle did walk out. It was strange when you got to the point where you could see that little light that was daylight. You walked and walked and finally you were outside. The best job in a mine is window cleaner.