Introduction:
Coal Mining 150 Years Ago

A Day in the Life of a Miner

• Morning
• Arrival
• Descent
• Bottom

As Fireboss

Jobs

Underground Stables

Introduction:
Open-Pit Mining Today

Mining

• Drilling and Blasting
• Removing the Waste Rock
• Loading Coal
• Processing Coal
  • Breaker
  • Coal-fired Dryer

Transporting Coal to the Market

Transporting Coal to the Market:

After being dropped into the train car I was sprayed with a flocculent. The flocculent formed a crust that sealed the rail car to stop my dust from blowing off into the atmosphere during our trip. I settled down for the long trip to the deep sea port of Roberts Bank at Westshore Terminals just south of Vancouver and over 1150 km away. Most of BC’s coal is shipped out of Roberts Bank because Westshore is one of the largest coal terminals in the world and can load more than 22 million tonnes of coal a year. In one hour, 6000 tonnes of coal can be loaded onto a ship.

I think my career as a world traveller began when I was loaded onto a huge boat and taken to Japan. Some of my friends were taken to Korea, others to Asia and some even went to Europe.

I hope you enjoyed my story. Now you can tell all of your friends how coal is extracted and how mining companies safely get coal like me to their customers.