A miner has died in an accident at the Enlow Fork Mine in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Tanner Lee McFarland, 25, was killed when part of a long wall collapsed on him at about 6.00 pm local time on Thursday 29 August 2019, at the Consul Energy-owned coal mine, part of the Pennsylvania Mining Complex. The cause of the accident is being investigated.
Miners at the Enlow Fork Wine in Pennsylvania. GKVisual.
Long wall mining is a highly mechanised form of deep pit mining, in which the coal seem is accessed along a straight line (the 'long wall') by cutting equipment connected to a conveyor belt. The coalface is intentionally caused to collapse by the cutting equipment, causing the coal to fall into hoppers mounted on the conveyor, which is then removed from the mine. Miners do not usually come between the conveyor and the coal face while the system is running, as much due to the dangerous nature of the cutting equipment as the risks presented by the face itself.
Cutting equipment at the coalface of a long wall mine in Pennsylvania. Consul Energy.
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