Basic Information about Surface Coal Mining in Appalachia
WEBOct 16, 2023 · Surface coal mining involves: removing parts or all of mountaintops to expose buried seams of coal, and. disposing in adjacent valleys the excess: "overburden" (rock above the coal seam), and. "interburden" (rock between coal seams). Overburden and interburden are disposed of in adjacent valleys because the broken rock will not all .