Mining equipment removing coal from burning seam - GIF

Mining equipment removing coal from burning seam.

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Previously:

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...748#post186505
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...996#post217543
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...849#post217009
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...517#post197105
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...799#post194184

I have a question out to a friend that drives one of those haul trucks as to what is going on here. I am thinking they are hauling off the burning coal to save the seam.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by odd one

I have a question out to a friend that drives one of those haul trucks as to what is going on here. I am thinking they are hauling off the burning coal to save the seam.

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That is exactly what they are doing there.

I wonder if they dug up an already burning seam, or if it caught fire after it was exposed. Seems like digging out an already burning seam would be pretty futile, unless they are just getting this part of it out of their way.

And question for those who might know: How do underground coal fires, like the one in Centralia, PA, get enough oxygen to keep burning? I can understand that exposed shafts and large cracks in the Earth might let some O2 in, but wouldn't you seal those up to stop the fire? This has long been a burning question for me.