Longwall mining is a highly productive underground coal mining
technique. Longwall mining machines consist of multiple coal shearers
mounted on a series of self-advancing hydraulic ceiling supports. The
entire process is mechanized.
Longwall mining machines are about 800 feet (240 meters) in width and 5
to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) tall. Longwall miners extract "panels" -
rectangular blocks of coal as wide as the mining machinery
and as long as 12,000 feet (3,650 meters). Massive shearers cut coal
from a wall face, which falls onto a conveyor belt for removal. As a
longwall miner advances along a panel, the roof behind the miner's path
is allowed to collapse.
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