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Chapter Two
MINING COAL
C
oal is extracted, or taken out of the
ground, by mining. The earliest
coal miners were not only men, but
also women and children, who hacked at
the coal with simple tools like stone flint
choppers, animal horns and antlers, and
early iron axes. Today’s North American
mines are highly technical and utilize
some of the biggest machines in the world.
But the work is still a very tough and
physical, with many possible dangers.
borehole:
a deep hole,
drilled or bored into the
ground.
excavator:
a machine,
usually with one or more
toothed wheels or buckets,
that digs material out of the
ground.
seismic:
waves in the form
of vibrations, or “shaking,”
that pass through the Earth.
Words to Understand