Retreat mining: Study needed to address safety concerns - Editorial, Salt Lake Tribune
It's known as retreat mining, a dangerous method used to recover as much coal as possible from otherwise played-out mines. The coal that helps form the structural support system for the mine is removed, allowing the roof to collapse as the miners work their way back, or "retreat," toward the mine entrance.
For decades, retreat mining has been conducted with relative safety in the East, where miners plumb shallow coal seams with minimal overburden. But less is known about the practice in the West, where mining is conducted thousands of feet underground and the weight of the mountains bring incredible pressures to bear.