Energy Resources

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Energy is the single most important part of everyday life, and fossil fuels are a key part of the world’s energy resources. In fact, the most abundant and economically viable fossil fuel is coal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), the United States has the world’s largest recoverable reserves. Although domestic usage has decreased from “its annual share of total net generation of 50% in 2007 to 37% in 2012”, exportation of U.S. coal is steadily increasing. Even if domestic net usage continues to decrease in the future, exports are sure to increase with more and more countries beginning to industrialize and look for cheap, reliable energy resources. But in order to use coal as energy, it must be mined. Selecting a method depends on many different environmental restraints, “such factors as topography, geometry of the coal seam, and geology of the overlying rocks, and most importantly, economic restraints” (Hermann 2011) all play a role in method selection. There are two main extraction techniques of coal mining; the first technique used is surface mining. Surface mining is where the topsoil is removed by machinery and the coal is then extracted from the exposed coal seam. Surface mining includes mountaintop, open pit, contour, highwall and area mining. These different mining techniques are used depending on environmental and economic factors. The second, more conventional extraction technique is underground mining which includes longwall, as well as room and pillar mining. This is where Victaulic can provide efficient extraction techniques leading to financial savings, quick installation, increases safety and decreasing the need of future fittings. Victaulic piping solutions play an important role in mining by cr...

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...E Tribal Energy Development Guide, World Coal Institute, USGS, Mineral
Information Institute, Kentucky Geological Survey, and National Mining Association. "Coal Mining Technologies." Http://teeic.anl.gov. Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, 31 Oct. 2000. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Hermann, Fred W. "Types of Coal Mining." Types of Coal Mining. ILO, 2011. Web. 20
Feb. 2014.

Kentucky Geological Survey. "Methods of Mining." Http://www.uky.edu/KGS/. KGS,
The University of Kentucky, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

U.S. Energy Information Administration. "What Is the Role of Coal in the United
States?" EIA's Energy in Brief: What Is the Role of Coal in the United States U.S. Department of Energy, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.

Vermeulen, Anine. "Company Designs Innovative Mine-pump Fittings." Mining
Weekly. Creamer Media, 8 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

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