He is afraid to sit in his backyard since he does not know when the blasting will occure and without reclamation of the land his property value will be reduced. In areas where the overburden contains acid forming rock, pools of acid mine drainage begin to collect. In addition, this unrestored land results in permanent loss of farmland and will continue to erode and be a source of sediment and acid drainage to nearby streams for years after the mining is completed. The maintenance yard and refuse dump will be left after the mining operation. This will cause an eyesore and a safety nuisance to both the neighbors and anyone driving along the road.
More coal is extracted using area mining than by any other technique.
Much of the coal which is mined by this method is found in the western and midwestern states, often beneath good farmland. This is a typical view of area mining before the Surface Mining Law required environmentally sound mining practices and reclamation of the land. Key Area mining Before the Surface Mining Law 1. Overburden from the initial mining is dumped in a heap at the edge of the operation. Top soil has been buried beneath the heap or mixed in with the rock overburden.