Glossary
ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil)
An explosive used in open cut mining to loosen the overburden, so the coal can be removed.
Bord and pillar mining
An underground mining technique. Tunnels are built in the coal seam to form roadways which are connected into each other to form square or rectangular patterns. Bord and pillar mining uses a machine called a continuous miner to take out the coal.
Carbonaceous
Material containing carbon.
Carbon dioxide
A colourless, tasteless, odourless gas widely found in nature. It is breathed out by humans. It is present in mines and can cause breathing problems if there is not enough oxygen.
Coke
Solid material left after heating coal.
Coking coal
Coal used for making coke, used to make steel.
Colliery or colleries
An underground mine. In Europe, where the first coal mines began operation, the underground mines are called collieries. When many of the workers moved to Australia to work in the new coal mines here, they bought the word colliery with them.
Continuous miner
An electric machine used in underground mines that cuts and loads coal at the same time.
Decompose
A word used to describe rotting branches and leaves.
Dragline
A large machine used in open cut mines to remove overburden.
Groundwater
Underground water that is in the soil or rocks.
Hydraulic
A means of operating machinery that moves water or oil through a pipe under pressure.
Loader
A large diesel-powered machine used to load coal in an open cut mine.
Longwall
A series of equipment, including hydraulic jacks and a shearer, used to mine coal in an underground mine.
Longwall mining
A mining technique in which large blocks of coal are removed in a single pass. This technique uses two tunnels which are about 1500 metres long and 250 metres apart and are joined together at the end by a third tunnel. The third tunnel marks the spot where longwall mining starts.
Overburden
The layers of dirt that cover coal seams. Overburden is also called spoil after it has been removed from on top of the coal seams.
Peat
Material made by rotting plants and animals in the first stage of coal formation.
Pit
Open cut mining area (the area from which the coal is taken out).
Rehabilitation
In mining, rehabilitation means restoring mined land so that it can be used for some other purpose after mining has finished. Rehabilitation involves shaping the remaining overburden into rolling hills, covering it with topsoil, and planting tree and grass seeds.
Seam
Layer of coal.
Sediment
Material such as mud and sand that has been moved and deposited by water, ice or wind.
Shearer
A machine that is part of the longwall. It has lots of picks attached to a drum that moves around and cuts coal.
Shovel (electronically-powered)
A large machine that has a bucket attached to the front. It is used in open cut mining to take out coal or overburden.
Shuttle cars
Haul trucks used in underground mining to take coal from the continuous miner to the conveyor belt.
Spoil
The layers of dirt that cover coal seams. Spoil is also called overburden.
Stacker/reclaimer
Large machines used to put coal into stockpiles and to take the coal and load it onto a conveyor belt. Stacker/reclaimers are used at ports.
Thermal coal
Coal used in generating electricity.
Topsoil
Surface layer of soil.
Turbine
A steam-powered motor that causes a shaft to move around and generate electricity.