Data Summary

Longwall Mining Panels

2024 - Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

API
REST: https://mapservices.pasda.psu.edu/server/rest/services/pasda/DEP2/MapServer
WMS: https://mapservices.pasda.psu.edu/server/services/pasda/DEP2/MapServer/WMSServer?request=GetCapabilities&service=WMS

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Data Archive: Download historic versions of this dataset

ABSTRACT
Coal mining has occurred in Pennsylvania for over a century. A method of coal mining known as Longwall Mining has become more prevalent in recent decades. Longwall mining involves full extraction of the coal seam in the longwall panel. The longwall mining machinery cuts or shears the coal off the face of a long wall panel of coal in a single pass. The machinery will then advance forward and perform another pass along the coal face. The broken off coal is hauled to the surface using conveyor belts. As the machinery advances forward into the coal panel, the mine roof is allowed to collapse behind it. This dataset identifies the footprint of these longwall panels relative to the surface.