The deepest Coal Mine in the world is over 5000 feet below the ground in the UK. Many in the United States are over 1200 feet deep, most of those are closed and now few are remaining. There is a mine in Alabama, which is the deepest vertical shaft coalmine in North America, with operations at 2,140 feet beneath the surface. It is hard for the coalmines in Washington State, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Alabama to compete with the incredible economies of scale of the Gillette WY above ground mine. Below ground coalmines can be quite dangerous. There are gases underground and coal dust and if a fire breaks out it steals all the oxygen. Learn more about the serious nature of these mine safety you may wish to visit this site: http://www.usmra.com.

Recently the rescue of the coalminers in PA caught the attention of the whole world as rescue workers and heads-up rescuees, worked non-stop to stay alive until every man got out. Mining is dangerous business and safety is essential and comes at a high cost in productivity. Above ground machinery and robotics have made many mining efforts in the United States profitable and much safer. Also at issue as we have discussed are the environmental issues. One coalminer ancestor we interviewed had been in touch with relatives in the UK, she told us of the problems with pollution: