It has been suggested that Culm dump, Culm bank be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Abandoned waste coal pile in Pennsylvania

Boney piles—also called culm, waste coal, gob piles, or slate dumps—are piles of low-coal-content waste from coal mining operations. These waste piles were created from minerals (called tailings) incidentally extracted from underground mines, from partings in the coal seam or from the mine floor and roof. In some instances, the waste was held in piles underground in the mine, only to be brought to the surface if the pile grew too big; other times, the breaker boys picked the waste was picked from the coal in the colliery as it moved on a conveyor belt towards the breaker. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... A culm dump contains waste materials from processed coal, such as slate and other non-combustible material. ... A culm bank is a bank of fine-grained anthracite coal produced as a waste byproduct in the mining process. ... Wyoming coal mine Coal mining is the extraction of coal from the earth for use as fuel. ... Tailings (also known as slickens[1]) are the waste left over[2] after removing the gangue from ore. ... Sub-surface mining or underground mining refers to a group of techniques used for the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth. ... A coal breaker processes raw chunks of mined coal and breaks them into various sizes useful for different types of furnaces. ...

In the United States, mining companies have not been allowed to leave behind abandoned boney piles since the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed in 1977. Sign at Indian Head Mine, near Beulah, ND. Photo: Chuck Meyers, OSM. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) is the primary federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining in the United States. ...

Name

The coal waste goes by many slang names, some of which are specific to certain areas of the world: Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ...

• boney comes from bone coal, a British term that originally referred to "coal mixed with ash, because their customers didn't want a product with such poor energy content."[1]
• culm is used solely in the United States' anthracite Coal Region in eastern Pennsylvania.
• gob stands for garbage off bituminous, and originally referred to waste materials inside the underground mines, as well as the above-ground piles.

Anthracite coal Anthracite is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. ... Counties of the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, known for anthracite mining. ... Official language(s) English, Pennsylvania Dutch Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area  Ranked 33rd  - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 km²)  - Width 280 miles (455 km)  - Length 160 miles (255 km)  - % water 2. ... Asphalt is a highly viscous liquid that occurs naturally in most crude petroleums. ...

Environmental Effects

Boney piles sometimes grew to millions of tons, and, having been abandoned, remain as huge piles today. Boney piles trap solar heat, making it difficult for vegetation to take root; this encourages erosion and creates dangerous, unstable slopes. The piles also create acid rock drainage, which pollutes streams and rivers. Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Acid mine drainage (AMD), or acid rock drainage (ARD), refers to the outflow of acidic water from (usually) abandoned metal mines or coal mines. ...

External links

• Turning coal waste into light, 8 October 2004
• Photo of a typical coal breaker with culm bank
• Breaker Boys and Bony Pickers, 28 November 2006