The Pros And Cons Of Coal Mining In Australia

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Coal Mining. This act of digging up economically valuable Minerals has profited our Government exponentially, but this act has also ruined our rivers and oceans. So, what are the benefits of Mining coal, and do they really outweigh the negatives?
In this essay I will be exploring the environmental impacts, the extraction, exploration and formation of coal and what its uses are in life of every day people.
First though, we must understand what coal is and how it is used. Black coal, according to the Mineral council of Australia, is formed “from accumulated vegetable matter that has been altered by decay and by various amounts of heat and pressure over millions of years.” Black coal deposits in Australia can be found in Goonyell, Krestal, Blackwater, …show more content…
In open cut mining, heavy trucks and hydraulic shovels are assisted by draglines to remove large slates of rock covering the Coal seam. This then allows workers to enter the seam and remove the coal. In Highwall mining, the excavation from open cut mining is exploited and the surrounding coal is removed. Strip Mining consist of the removal of the layer of the rock above a seam by blasting and drilling. Underground Mining consist of coal being removed through long parallel tunnels to the surface. This allows the mines roof to collapse in on itself, making it sustainable for a cheaper …show more content…
When coal is burned, it releases Co2, which then floats to the top of the Earth where it collects in the atmosphere. This acts like a blanket on the Earth, allowing the suns rays to penetrate through, but cannot escape. This is bad for the environment as in the north pole, the ice burgs melt which raises sea levels and it causes more erratic and extreme weather events.
The actual extraction of the mineral from the earth is also harmful, as when the mining company removes the top soil and plants from the area, it destroys the land, and the only way to make the ground fertile again is by doing extensive revitalisation. In most cases, the soil is not replaced, meaning that any plants and animals that lived in the area would have lost their homes and the land around it will not grow trees. This greatly impacts the environment as the negative effects from mining can cripple the land for hundreds of
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