Visit Introduction by Cynthia Betcher, ERC Interdisciplinary Field Experiences Coordinator 
On August 21, 2020, the ERC students had an interdisciplinary virtual field experience. Due to safety recommendations related to COVID-19, an onsite visit was not possible in fall, 2020, so Riverview Coal Mine of Alliance Coal, graciously offered a virtual walkthrough of an underground coal mine. General Manager, Ken Ford, hosted the tour assisted by Kim Humphrey. The morning began with introductions followed by an overview and history of Riverview Coal and a discussion of the gradual development of a safety culture at Riverview over a period of years. 

The virtual walkthrough was a valuable learning experience for all participants and our hosts answered numerous questions to promote student learning. Each student participant or participant partner group contributed to the ERC blog by composing a summary of a portion of the virtual visit.



Blog Entry by Megan Syck and Meghan Weller Regarding ERC Virtual Walkthrough of Riverview Coal 8.21.20

Coal is a non-renewable natural resource that is typically found in various depths under the earth's surface. It is primarily used as a fuel in power generation. Producing coal is an extended process that includes applying large amounts of pressure on various decaying debris over thousands of years. This process creates what is known as a seam of coal. There are four main types of coal: Lignite, Bituminous coal, Anthracite and Sub-bituminous, each taking different amounts of time and pressure to develop. Different types of coal are desirable for different burn times and heat production. 

Regardless of the type, coal is typically processed using a standard mining process. On August 21, 2020, River View coal mine was virtually toured to explain their “room & pillar” method. At River View, coal is extracted from a production unit which sits about 400 feet underground and is about three football fields in length. Coal is removed using automated miners that crush the coal to remove large lumps and create a more desirable product. The coal is then transported from the miners by car to a conveyor belt that brings the coal back up above the surface of the earth and into the processing plant. Once in the processing plant, coal is then separated to remove the non-combustible rocks from the desired coal product. The waste from this process is transported to a settling pond. River View adds magnetite the water to increase the specific gravity to allow the rock waste to settle to the bottom and allow any residual coal that was missed in the first separation to float to the top and be collected.

Once separated from the rock the coal is washed and dried. It is then piled into a storage area that sits above an underground tunnel that allows the coal to be loaded onto barges on the Ohio River to ship the desired customer.

Brendan Hanson Bog Entry Regarding ERC Virtual Walkthrough of Riverview Coal 8.21.20

Coalmines have hazardous substances, chemicals, and materials that can take on many forms and pose a variety of worker safety issues. Underground coalmines sometimes contain gaseous materials such as methane, which is a natural gas located underground. Methane, although useful for creating energy, can be hazardous to the workers who are within the underground mine. Workers work with machinery that drills into rock/coal formations to pick up coal. The oxygen levels must be maintained for workers to breathe within the coalmine. If the oxygen levels are within a specific range, there is a specific concentration of methane in the air, and a piece of machinery sparks on a rock/coal formation, it will result in an explosion or conflagration. 

Coal dusts used to be a massive problem in the coal industry. As laborers would extract coal from a rock formation, dusts would aerosolize into the air. Workers would then breathe dusts that result in subsequent adverse health effects. The condition that coal miners used to receive from coal dust inhalation is commonly known as black lung. In order to curb coal dusts that go airborne, this particular coal mine utilizes machines that pull the dust into a chamber where water is sprayed. This prevents the dusts from aerosolizing even further. There is one detriment to using such a method, as it creates an acid solution that could be potentially hazardous for both workers and the environment. In order to mitigate against worker or environmental harm, the company has two methods of managing the waste stream. If the coalmine is deep enough, then it is generally safe to allow the water to sink into the ground as no groundwater, food source, or environmental medium will be greatly affected. If the coalmine shaft is not deep enough, then wastewater will be pumped out of the mine to be dealt with in a safe manner.