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Images related to Hambach Coal Mine

North Antelope Rochelle Coal Mine, Wyoming
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North Antelope Rochelle Coal Mine, Wyoming

The United States’ highest rate of coal production is in Wyoming, with almost 4 million short tons extracted in 2004. The majority of this coal is burned to generate electrical power within the United States, but a small percentage is also goes to Spain and Canada. The Powder River Basin in the northeastern portion of the state is the most productive of Wyoming’s coal fields. The extensive coal deposits—ranging in thickness from 21 to 53 meters (70 to 175 feet)—formed over 38-66 million years ago. The source of organic material for the coal originated in swamps, estuaries, and deltas associated with the regression (retreat) of a large inland seaway that occupied central North America during the Cretaceous Period, which spanned the years between about 144 to 65 million years ago.

Published Oct 10, 2005

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Coal Mines in Germany
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Coal Mines in Germany

Published Aug 2, 2001

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From Mine District to Lake District
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From Mine District to Lake District

Once a center for mining brown coal, Central Germany is slowly transforming its pits to pools.

Published Mar 11, 2021

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Hobet-21 Mine, West Virginia
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Hobet-21 Mine, West Virginia

This pair of images shows the growth of a mountaintop removal in the headwaters of Mud River in Boone County, West Virginia, between 1987 and 2002.

Published Dec 23, 2007

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Coal Mines, Eastern Germany
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Coal Mines, Eastern Germany

An astronaut managed to capture the size and detail of the artificial landscape that results from strip mining.

Published Jun 26, 2017

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Hobet Mine, West Virginia
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Hobet Mine, West Virginia

Multiple layers of coal lie underground in ancient rocks. In some places, miners remove mountaintops to get at it.

Published Apr 10, 2011

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Coal Sludge Impoundments, West Virginia
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Coal Sludge Impoundments, West Virginia

Since the mid- to late 1990s, the number and size of coal mines known as mountaintop removal mines increased dramatically in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The final step in processing this coal creates sludge that contains coal dust, sediment, and possibly heavy metals and chemicals. Mine operators contain the coal sludge in nearby valleys, behind huge earthen dams known as valley fills.

Published Apr 25, 2008

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Carajás Mine, Brazil
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Carajás Mine, Brazil

The terraced layers of red earth that make up the Carajás Iron Ore Mine contrast with the deep green Amazon Rainforest in this cloud-free image.

Published Jul 29, 2009

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Gillette Coal Pits, Wyoming
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Gillette Coal Pits, Wyoming

Powder River Basin is a major source of low-sulfur coal, helping to make Wyoming one of the largest coal-producers in the United States.

Published Mar 14, 2016

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Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana
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Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana

otswana ranks first among the world’s gem-quality diamond producers, and diamond mining makes up 70 percent of the nation’s export revenue. The Jwaneng Diamond Mine, in south-central Botswana, sits atop the convergence of three kimberlite pipes—diamond-rich geologic formations. Because the pipes meet just below the surface and cover some 520,000 square meters (128.5 acres) at ground level, the diamonds are mined from an open pit rather than a mine tunneled below the surface.

Published Oct 26, 2008

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