Coal Mining in Appalachia

This video is about Coal Mining via Mountain Top Removal. Appalachian Coal Mining
See how coal is mined in the Appalachian Mountains via Mountain Top Removal. This 30 minute video takes you inside a giant dragline and tells the whole story from blasting the rock to transporting the coal by rail. See Elk enjoying the reclaimed land. I started this project in 2002.

[@carlstanoyevic3070]

Gary thanks for the tour. My heart goes out to men and women who have been displaced by the close of the mine .God Bless them

[@kofola9145]

I would not worry about them. These men are specialized professionals, I am pretty sure there is a lot of companies who will gladly relocate them worldwide.

[@Bobs2cents]

This was about the most informative video I've ever seen on coal mining! Mr.Smith ,your knowledge of mining is exceptional, from the horsepower ratings of the individual motors to the reinforced dump gates of the coal trucks. Thank you sir, this video will remain in my PC library as one of the most entertaining and educational videos I have watched!!

[@garysmith4864]

Well for a guy FROM LEFT FIELD you wrote a very nice complementary piece, and I thank you. I'm most happy that people learn from it. Thanks very much.

[@cumminsrealpower680]

I couldn't agree more. Very informative and a well presented video. I especially liked the D11 Cats working.

[@rif167]

Great video! Everything reminds me of my Grandpa, who operated draglines, tippers, and other assorted heavy equipment in coal and potash mines throughout SW Pennsylvania and upper West Virginia. He didn't fully retire until he was 73 years old because of the love he had for the work. When visiting him and Grandma, if he and I weren't fishing, hunting, or hiking and camping, he'd take me to his "latest project". I'm thankful for the great life he and Grandma had because of his hard work, and I've never seen anyone work half as hard; miners work like dogs!

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you rif167 for your description of your grandparents and their mining life. For sure they are a hard working bunch and they take on much risk to earn a living for their familys.

[@bcdrummer1962]

This was an excellent video, congrats Gary Smith. I really enjoyed it! And your narration voice is terrific!

[@dwightarnold6980]

Look what they're doing 2 the Land,! Numb Nuts?

[@bcdrummer1962]

@@dwightarnold6980 You call me Numb Nuts - with THAT punctuation? I don't think so..... PS I hope you are not using, um, ELECTRICITY to power your pc or phone, or home, because you are COMPLICIT, YOU HYPOCRITE..

[@kennethsee6262]

My friend was in maintenance and truly these guy's work the unsung heros who keeps the mixing operation goings

[@kennethsee6262]

@@dwightarnold6980 Reclamation actually does it good plus the millions state and local governments get from warehouse and revenue taxes Are funded right back into sustainable programs generating jobs local economic improvements. And a essential resource

[@justinratcliffe947]

@@bcdrummer1962 Exactly. People have no appreciation for good industries

[@tandemcompound2]

what a first rate video, good pics and very thoughtful commentary. thank you.

[@bobjames7212]

Good job. Reaclaim was exellent! Very important to us mountan people. Have seen much worse. Once again great work. James.

[@edheavner3061]

Reminds me of when I worked for a service company down in Martin County, Ky back in '77. Worked at Martiki Coal Mine and most of our work was repairing their drag line bucket. Martiki's Coal Mine had a drag line and three buckets of same style and size and the drag line ran 24-7. One bucket was used for thirty days, we repaired a bucket for thirty days and Martiki had a third bucket for an emergency spare. It was a ten hour day to change buckets. It required two D9 dozers to drag the one from our area to the drag line. Then they would cut the huge pad eyes off the back heel of the "new" bucket and reweld them to the "old" bucket, hook up the two D9's to them and drag the old bucket back to our area for repair. This video reminds me so much of Martiki Coal Mine and all of the operations preformed and the types of equipment used back then.

[@garysmith4864]

Ed Heavner you are or were right next to W Virginia. At the mine in the video they also had 3 buckets in rotation. Digging rock is a lot different than dirt. Thanks for the reply.

[@lb5427]

I like that Smith's videos simply state the facts regarding his subject and he allows the viewer to find their own opinion. Smith is a documentarian not a journalist. If only the news programs would do the same.

[@garysmith4864]

+LAURA JOHNSON Thanks Laura, as you said, I just shot it as I saw it, I made not effort to slant what was there one way or the other. Because of what is now going on in the coal industry many people are loosing their jobs and homes. South Eastern Kentucky is really hurting economically. I've seen many an area mined there and when it's all said and done the land is returned to areas that which you see in the video. There are many many mountains that remain.

[@brentoncarter4275]

+LAURA JOHNSON i think it's incredibly perplexing that you think this isn't absolutely horrifying. we ARE causing the destruction of this small outpost of life, our home.

[@garysmith4864]

+Brenton Carter While you may think that the mining of coal is a terrible rape of the land, and it may well be, I just wanted to show how strip-mining was done. I didn't want to get political and favor one side or the other. Mining is a fact of life and has been through out man's history, it is how we get our resources. I must say that the land the elk were on was reclaimed land and in time will look much like the land before the coal was removed. I do understand your revulsion but that was not what I was trying to show. Evidently I happened to showed both sides quite well as both good and comments have been made. Men have spent their lives in the mines and many have liked the memories shared.

[@brentoncarter4275]

+Gary Smith i understand your intent and my own political agenda has nothing to do with this. the notions you just stated in your response are patently false: no ecological system can recover from the destruction that this industry has created nor is it the intent of those profiting from it to rehabilitate the area. your statement that mining is a fact of life is not supported by fact or reason. we have technologies, including wind, solar, wave, electromagnetic, and revolutionary energy concepts like zero-point that harvest energy without ravaging entire ecosystems. furthermore, these eco-systems aren't isolated and the results are felt planet wide. furthermore, we could say that slavery is just a fact of life since man has been enslaving his own kin for countless millennia, and yet we have almost banished overt slavery from modern society. while the techniques and engineering involved are impressive they are also terrifying and irresponsible. So I do have a problem with this feature creating apathy towards an industry we must hold in contempt and abolish.

[@lb5427]

+Brenton Carter - if you'll re-read my post, I think you'll realize that I did not state an opinion on the subject of mining.

[@porch1723]

Great job on this video. I worked underground on Mud Creek in Floyd Co. I hauled coal in Eastern Ky. for 16 years and Phosphate in Florida for 8 years. So I have seen all this up close and personal.

[@charlesmullins3238]

I live round Martin ol buddy…steamed on sf and tons of jobs round here…dad put 30yr underground all around here….if you worked in deep mines in 70s and 80s you may know him…1 of the smartest hardest workin humans I’ve ever known…not because it’s mine either…I work for Elliot’s now…

[@ryanozbun8933]

awesome video please make more!

[@johndean4912]

Thank you for the good video. John USA

[@liamforde4137]

Gary this is a brilliant educational and informative video - the best I've seen so far on KZbin. Very well produced!

[@garysmith4864]

Wows, the complements don't get any better than that, I thank you Lien Forde. A loing way from the comment of, "My mother should have had an abortion" ha ha.

[@brucesorensen3224]

@@garysmith4864 The haters that are brain washed are many. You sir are a pleasure to listen to and should do more documentaries

[@WoodwiseJoe]

Nice job, Me. Thanks for taking the time to put this film together. You sound kinda like that guy that narrated World of Disney on Sunday evenings when I was a boy.

[@irenebignall7245]

Fantastic story teller,my man worked down the coal mine,he loved your heart warming story,thanks for posting.

[@baerster]

Gary - great video, and a well-told story. Thank you for making it and posting it! Like other people who commented on this video I appreciate how you stick to the facts of what you saw.

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you Tom, I simply want to show what I saw, no politics. But of course when showing anything about coal it touches a political nerve. Oh how I wish I could do it again with a better camera.

[@salruiz8066]

As a 40 year retired coal miner... excellent presentation of the coal mining process and reclamation of the land...👍👍😎

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you Sal, nice to hear from a miner. You guys are getting rare. Have a good day.

[@bellboy4074]

Very nice video. Thank you.

[@TheLemonadedrinker]

Wonderful film. Thank you.

[@DazedNConfuzed58]

I love this video! It's so down home and informative. Just sit back n enjoy!

[@garysmith4864]

Wow, that is some complement, thank you PaullyBB. Take a look at this video, it has some Coal mining in it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6DGdH-VmbpjeaM

[@Hillbillyhippie77]

Thank you for the video, My daddy ran that dragline in the 80’s & early 90’s…. He would take me to work with him when he worked nightshift, I was about 5 or 6 and I would sit in his lap and he would let me run the hand controls while he controlled the feet. I have very fond memories of that big machine! He would make me a pallet in the floor of the locker room near the cab and Id sleep while he worked….

[@garysmith4864]

Hi Hillbilly Hippie, so glad my video brought back such nice memories to you. It's a beautiful place down there, my wife is from Hazard. Haven't been there for about 4 years now as her health is poor.

[@haythamaljaru8264]

God blessed you for this great documentary

[@Brad772006]

Thank you for sharing. I have always been fascinated by any kind of earth moving machinery and the mining industry had the biggest. I miss the days when those really big ones such as Big Muskie and The Silver Spade were in operation.

[@kennethsee6262]

I liked that he gave us veteran drag line operators some exposure you always see the tippers dozens and dumps where really the biggest mover of dirt is that 300 boom drag line working in the background

[@deerazor8280]

This guy is brilliant, knows his stuff and throws in a lot of his personality and humour! Here in Britain We have Fred Dibnah, an old school engineer, steeple jack, etc. I just giggle all the way through a TV episode same as this guy, brilliant, thank you America!!!

[@garysmith4864]

Wow, that is quite a complement, thank you very much. I'd like to make another one but many of the mines are closing down and it's almost impossible to get inside one because of insurance reasons.

[@dorothyfishbaugh4728]

Enjoyed this video, seeing the reclamation, and hearing the information given! Music was great,too.

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you Dorothy Fishbaugh, so glad you learned from it. Needless to say I had fun making it.

[@TheAnnieDeppeChannel]

Excellent video! This is exactly what I wanted to see! Thanks for uploading!

[@dikeshkurre6869]

Exactly here

[@diaryofaherbert7423]

Excellent video and a fascinating insight. Well done sir!

[@galenchan3488]

Great video, very passionate and informative. Continue producing these videos!

[@susanstorey6160]

You've done a great job with this video .Thanks.

[@rohnerw]

Thank-you, Gary. Wonderful video. That is how the story of coal, the entire story of coal, from beginning to reclamation, should be told. Thumbs-up. As long as there is a need for steel to manufacture buildings, cars, trucks, bridges, trains and the rail they ride on, there will be a need for coal. And the best place, and only place to my knowledge in the US, where the high carbon coal is found for steel making, is in the Appalachians. Without high carbon coal, there is no coke made from coal to provide the carbon for the steel making process and all the benefits that steel provides. As long as there is a need for economically produced and reasonably priced power for home, manufacturing, industry, and the jobs they create, without which no economy can ever grow great, there will always be a need, for coal.

[@garysmith4864]

+rohnerw I thank you for your kind comments. As you said, "That is how the story of coal, the entire story of coal, from beginning to reclamations, should be told." That is what I attempted to do, and it amazes me that some think I was trying to tell how wonderful it is. Just the facts.

[@windt4lker74]

Thx for sharing this video. God bless the coal miner and God bless the USA

[@justafootballfan5422]

My teacher told us to watch this for social studies and I wasn't disappointed!

[@garysmith4864]

Wow Superstar, that is about the nicest complement I've ever received. I want to thank you for your kind words. Your teacher must be a brave person for showing you something that is not just negative about coal. Where do you live? and what grade are you in.

[@justafootballfan5422]

@@garysmith4864 Thats personal information. You shouldn't share info like that on internet. All I'll say I live in Minnesota.

[@garysmith4864]

@@justafootballfan5422 That's fine and I understand, tell your teacher thank you for me.

[@justafootballfan5422]

@@garysmith4864 Okay no problem :D.

[@garysmith4864]

@@justafootballfan5422 You say you are from Minnesota and lately I found a website of a man who farms in Minnesota. It's the Millennial Farmer, maybe you would like that also. Look for some of my New Mexico videos.

[@davidclark3304]

I think I enjoyed this video about as much as any I've seen on KZbin. And whoever chose the music, it's worth watching just for that.

[@garysmith4864]

Wow, thanks a lot David Clark, your's is a nice complement. I did it all, including choosing the music.

[@Beerissmoke12]

When the song first came on I thought I click on the wrong video. I thought I was cooking with Kent Rollins

[@SmellNRoses]

Nice video and very interesting. I've spent some time in eastern Kentucky and saw a lot of mines. It is a controversial topic but love it or hate it, it is what powers America! Those elk were awesome!

[@apricity5299]

It's what used to power America. Coal and all fossil fuels alike are and outdated resource. 150 years after the industrial revolution and we still use the same power source! Why? We have many alternative ways to power our lives without cone tell trashing the planet that gives us life and every single thing we know.

[@rohnerw]

+Apricity Coal is not just used for power. Do you drive a car? Use any products made of steel in your home, kitchen? Do you use tools, wrenches, drills, screwdrivers? Do you ride on a train? Without coal, the high carbon source needed to make steel (even with recycling, new steel is needed and thus coal to adjust its carbon content) for those things made of steel that you use and take for granted everyday, would not exist. Yes, coal is used to produce inexpensive power, without which industry and strong economies cannot exist. But it is not only used, in power plants.

[@robertrichardson9953]

@@apricity5299 you know what you can do with your alternatives

[@JCR43221]

Outstanding documentary! Thank you

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks Jim Roberts.

[@rjl110919581]

THANK YOU FOR DETAIL VIDEO OF OPERATION OF COAL MINE

[@garymcdonald6529]

Now that’s just an excellent production, well done sir.

[@rosewhite---]

4:30 it fascinates me how easy that bucket loaded with 40 tons of rock can be opened by a short pull of the latch!

[@titaniumman_22]

Very informative...then the credits cracked me up! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@garysmith4864]

Glad I passed along some appreciated information. I laughed at your final comment, ME

[@mrpeabodythethird]

So cool! Thanks! Much better and easier to listen to than Hollywood!

[@relaxbecalm5574]

I was a coal miner for 18 years and my dad and grandfather was before me....this video does it right. Keep the videos coming .

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks Gene Keller, your comments are appreciated. I'd love to make more videos like this one but because of insurance it is almost impossible to get into mines now days. Besides, as you probably know, many of the coal mines in Kentucky have closed.

[@garysmith4864]

To Mining Photography, no I do not have any photos of the Marion 8050. I didn't have my camera along with me when I photographed it. But glad you enjoyed the video.

[@KieraCameron514]

Gary Smith You didn't have your camera with you when you photographed it? How did you photograph it then?

[@garysmith4864]

***** I didn't have my DSLR camera with me.

[@billrandolph5375]

+Gary Smith Great video you've put together here. Am in N.C., and doing research in preparation to writing a book about the history of gold mining in and around Charlotte. Totally different from coal mining......also have roots in Appalachia. I think what initially shocks those not familiar with coal mining is the process called 'Mountain-Top removal'. And I will concur with them to the extent that it does sound drastic. Plus, even WITH all the reclamation work done, that mountain/mountain top will never be the same. Having said that, coal mining has come a long way from the old days most think of when the term is used. And it has played an integral part, and still does, in supplying affordable energy. Am curious as to how the production of electricity by nuclear means affected the coal mining industry. Until alternative sources of energy are made reliable and affordable, the use of coal as a primary energy producer will remain.

[@garysmith4864]

+Bill Randolph Thanks for the complement on the video. Yes, strip mining leaves great scars on the land, but so do earth quakes, rivers changing course and glaciers, and that is not said to diminish the harm done by strip mining. We all see things in our short life times and don't realize how time changes things. The Appalachian mountains used to as high as the Himalayas are today, but we don't even notice. As for nuclear energy, it would be a good way to cut down burning fossil fuels but people are afraid of it, causing it to be very political. As for the shutting down of coal, most of that has been caused by the technology of horizontal drilling resulting in an abundance of natural gas. I'm no fan of Obama but it is natural gas that is shutting down many coal jobs. He, however, is not helping. Nor will Hillary's pledge to shut the industry down.

[@billrandolph5375]

+Gary Smith totally agree--NOT a fan of Obama...even less of a fan of Hillary!

[@hueycampbell6875]

Excellent!! Thank you for this......I like it ALL....Machines....music....narration..... scenery

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks a million Huey, that is what makes me look for more subjects. It was a lot of fun putting it all together. Hope to be doing one in New Mexico in a little while.

[@johna1144]

This was an amazing video. I learned allot from this video.

[@garysmith4864]

Glad to hear that John A., because that is why I made it, to let folks see how it's done.

[@landonwilliams4747]

“God bless the working men” 🇺🇸-Alan Jackson God bless the coal miners.

[@Rickimusic]

God got to bless them early, 55 was their average age. Human lives for corporate greed, and the beat goes on.

[@Mercmad]

@@Rickimusic In the 1800-1940's sure. But today coal mining is as safe as it can possibly be with miners earning huge salaries .

[@katzgar]

@@Mercmad your comment that coal mining is so safe that The Black lung fund is about to go bust is correct

[@danbailey96]

Mercmad it is much safer then it used to be but underground mining still is very dangerous

[@charlesmiddleton6211]

This is an amazing video and I'm really impressed with what you have filmed and how it's been presented. It's also really shocked me just how much damage we have to do to our planet just to meet our energy requirements. I really think about this now every time I switch on a light, or watch a video on KZbin. That power has to come from somewhere! The economics are also really interesting when you consider how much energy (in this case diesel and electricity) are required to strip all of that overburden to get to that short seam of coal. When you consider you need the coal to smelt the steel for the trucks that will mine the coal to smelt the steel for the next trucks... it truly is food for thought. Thanks again.

[@russg1801]

If you think we're doing environmental damage, imagine what CHINA, with FOUR TIMES our population, is doing.

[@ronjones4863]

I even liked the credits Mr. Smith!

[@pottingshedgene]

Best journalism since journalism was invented.

[@garysmith4864]

Wow Monk Music, that is quite a complement you've paid me, I thank you very much. So glad you enjoyed the video.

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks Gary, my wife is from Hazard. I've been going down there for 53 years and have seen a lot of changes. I enjoy the people and the country. Feel free to pass my videos along if you would like to.

[@tobeyadams2045]

Gary, I would love to have a copy of this video in the event it somehow gets deleted. I worked for Cyprus Mountain Coals in the engineering dept for several years. It was one of the best and most enjoyable work opportunities of my life. I got to see all that equipment up close.

[@garysmith4864]

+Tobey Adams I can't give you a copy as I don't have the original any more. However the American Coal Association is going to use most of it for education in schools. I will post on this site when I know it's been released.

[@tobeyadams2045]

+Gary Smith Exactly when was most of this taken? I was there from 95-98 up til Cyprus Amax shut it down. In fact I was on vacation when I got the call they had shut down and laid every one off Including me. Fortunately I had turned in my resignation. I knew the Addington Brothers acquired the mine property. But I notice the Cyprus Logo still on the Dragline and Shovel..

[@Matt-ey7pk]

Tobey Adams I doubt you'll see my comment since you were here years ago but if you look on Google there are KZbin video downloaders which you can use to download this video to your computer/phone.

[@joshtaylor4249]

This was a great video! !!

[@rudysimmonds3252]

Nice Video,love the banjo a the end!

[@dixfer203]

I am a friend of President Trump and you can take this quote to the bank, "Look at all that sweet sweet wonderful COAL!" Thanks for this video!!

[@ignatiusdemonseed]

"Looks like Charlie is enjoying his can of pop!" Ha! I used to make a living burning the coal that came from such mining operations. Turned it into electricity. Sadly it seems coal fired steam units will soon be a thing of the past. We enjoyed cans of pop in the power plant, too!

[@nryan9595]

Love the video Gary. As an 18 year old kid that likes to (respectively) ride his dirt bike through these mines near me, I was always fascinated by these massive machinery. Thank you for this very informative video and so happy I could learn this way.

[@garysmith4864]

Hi N Ryan, very glad you liked the video and learned from it. Are you from the area, I used to ride my bike and 4 wheeler near the area that was filmed. All closed down now but open to 4 wheeling and elk viewing.

[@davidschick6951]

I never heard an elk call before. Thanks for doing this.

[@garysmith4864]

The elks calling in the evening are a real treat, glad you got to hear them.

[@falconeddy254]

they say that everyone can come back to Kentucky and West Virginia because Trump has created thousands of mining industry jobs for America. I heard ten thousand alone in Kentucky by the end of the year

[@baerster]

www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/jun/05/scott-pruitt/are-coal-mining-jobs-50000-last-year-not-exactly/

[@arborist460]

I'm still waiting....

[@katzgar]

@@jackjax532 trump is for uneducated morons

[@kennethsmith8968]

@@katzgar like you

[@csnelling4]

Great video, love the tone/accent of the narrator’s voice . That’s from a Brit 😉

[@sierrafoxtrotgolf3638]

Great video. I love the closing credits!

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks Sierra Foxtrot Gulf, so glad it had meaning for you, singed "me"

[@jackel440]

Excellent video And what a group of men it took to plan and execute it. Love the reclamation after the mine is done. Never hear or see much on that part of the life after the mine is shutdown. Thanks again for your documentary

[@stevengoodell6933]

Good job "me"

[@-mike--m-9629]

More of these videos are needed to *educate* our rather ignorant younger generation. Clean coal provides the electricity for their computers. (Now go put your xbox down and step outdoors)

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you very much Mike, I take your words as a complement. It is fun showing the video to young people.

[@petloves1]

What is clean coal?

[@travelingdude33914]

LOL clean coal!! Keep watching Fox news. NO SUCH THING AS CLEAN COAL! Coal is carbon and when you burn carbon you release pollution WAY worse than natural gas, hence DEATH OF COAL

[@garysmith4864]

Clean coal does not mean the coal itself is clean, it isn't. What it means is the technology to burn it and remove the bad stuff before returning it to the atmosphere. I once ran a fluidized bed boiler that burned coal mixed in with limestone. It was a Dept of Energy demonstration plant funded by DOE, state of Illinois and Combustion Engineering. Burning the coal with limestone at a controlled temperature less than normal burning in which the lime stone sucked the sulphur from the coal turning the limestone to gypsum.. It worked but has not been implemented. The exhaust was mostly carbon dioxide, the burning of natural gas doesn't need all the clean technology needed to remove the pollutants because none are present as in coal but it still emits carbon dioxide. All combustion does.

[@HobbyOrganist]

There is no "clean" coal! Here's what's powering MY computers, at about 8 cents a kwh; Our customers want more renewable energy - 91% of those we asked say it’s important to utilize renewable resources like wind and solar. We couldn’t agree more. And we're doing it with minimal cost impact to our customers. Our rates in Iowa are the 9th lowest in the U.S. - about 37% below the national average. Our 100% Renewable Vision In 2004, 70% of our generation capacity came from coal and nothing came from wind. At year-end 2016, 48% of our generation capacity came from wind and 31% came from coal. In April 2016, we announced our 100% renewable vision; we want to provide 100% renewable energy for our customers. That vision involves Iowa Utilities Board approval of our 2,000-megawatt Wind XI project. When the Wind XI project is complete, our annual renewable energy generation is expected to reach a level that’s equivalent to more than 90% of our customers’ annual retail usage. And we will continue to evaluate opportunities to realize our 100% renewable vision. Generating energy is only part of the solution. To support the integration of renewable energy onto the power grid, we are investing in our transmission infrastructure and working with our transmission provider to ensure it can carry the new power load. All of this work helps us move toward our 100% renewable energy vision for customers in Iowa. www.midamericanenergy.com/our-renewable-energy-vision.aspx

[@TAMAsmith1965]

Great video!

[@wmden1]

Thank you for one of the most interesting and informative videos on strip mining on all of youtube. Great job educating us, who are not experts on the subject. I greatly appreciate your knowledge and expertise being passed to us with no condescension. The narrator really knows what he is talking about, and we can hear the pride in his work, in his voice.

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you very much wmden1, your comments are greatly appreciated. It was a lucky time when I filmed the video as mines then would allow you in to watch. Can't do it now because if insurance worries. I tried very hard to keep the video free from politics, just wanted to tell the story of how things are done,.

[@mikem2491]

this is one of the best documentaries ive ever watched! Well done my man! But I don't get the economics. Such enormous capital expense for such a slim profit margin. Scary.

[@garysmith4864]

+mike m Thanks for the complement. I in fact am down here right now. The machine shop seen in the video is now closed as is the tipple. Things are going to get very bad down here.

[@jstoli996c4s]

A small percentage of billions and billions is still a lot. That’s why it’s done.

[@roberthuron9160]

People take far to much for granted! The iron ore mines in Minnesota,the steel mills,and the service industries,that make up the support system,are just there! No political person thinks only past the next election,and where their next sop from the special interests ,will come from,and just how did sundry pols,become multi- millionaires,in their time in office?A good place to go to,is the biography of LBJ,and his rise to power! Palace politics has ruined more countries,than any amount of wars put together! Trump,for his faults,knows working people,because he is a builder and knows all about supply ⛓ chains,and what it takes,to make things run! We are over supplied with college trained idiots,with not a bit of common sense,and humility! Look at Yale,now,in violation of laws written to keep a level playing field! Nuff said,thank you for seeing those mighty machines in action,as I was a side walk superintendent from the time,I was in diapers!🚂🚊🚇🌉🏗

[@Whiskeybuisness]

"This is how we USED TO DO IT".....

[@56pw]

Thats a very good video Sir! You did an excellent job making it. Thank you for the insightful topic, very informative.

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you 56pw, your words are kind. I'd love to make another one but strip mining has really slowed down in SE Kentucky. There isn't much to see inside a deep mine, besides they won't let me in, I tried.

[@richnovotny5008]

Well done!

[@hankmyers527]

This is what I do for a living strip coal.

[@lumox7]

Earth First. We'll strip mine the other planets later.

[@natedog1619]

Bill Williams then walk to work and put down your phone, everything that adds comfort or convenience to your life can trace its roots to the energy produced by fossil fuels. Make sure you go to the videos on dairy farms and bitch about cow farts before you put the phone down though.

[@hugodrax1674]

That's New Age misanthropic propaganda coupled with Sci-Fi

[@JamesNickersonThePhotoShopGuru]

AWESOME 👏 thank you for sharing 👍🏻👍🏻🙏🏻

[@SuperMarkbrewer]

Thanks Really enjoyed this

[@garysmith4864]

While I support Trump I think the major problem with coal is natural gas. I am glad the government has changed it's tune and is not working against coal as Obama and Hillary wanted.

[@-mike--m-9629]

RW Jazz You're just an ignorant child. Go watch vid again and know what made America great. Snowflake Pfffftttttttt....

[@danielisaiah5178]

yes but , do you know WHY ?????

[@toolstimber5953]

Think really that the future of America is in coal?

[@HobbyOrganist]

In fact, it's competition from cheaper energy sources, including natural gas, that's the primary culprit for the decline that coal has seen since 2009. Despite the orange idiot's administration's encouragement of the industry, along with oil, fossil-fuel jobs are unlikely to come back for another reason. Solar and wind energy, in their current phase, are more jobs-intensive than oil. The entire Keystone XL pipeline only takes about 50 workers to maintain, according to the company that created it. One reason solar power is booming is that it is finally competitive with, and sometimes more affordable than, other energy providers. Even if the modest government incentive that solar currently enjoys were removed, it's likely cheap enough that it could reasonably compete with fossil-fuel sources. Between 2010 and 2016, the sector grew by over 20 percent every year, according to the Energy Department finding. In many states, growth was even stronger. This entire country was and is being turned upside down in the name of pandering to 50,000 coal miners nationwide feeding them the myth that their jobs can and will be protected no matter what doing so will do to the environment and to the nation's economy. The State of Massachusetts alone has 100,000 green energy jobs. Just watch this video here and think about all the diesel fuel that had to be made, transported and now burned up just to mine and MOVE half a mountain to get at a 4 foot deep coal bed, good grief when you look at all those 1000 hp motors, and all those pieces of heavy equipment burning thru tanks of diesel every day for this one mine it boggles the mind how much resources are being wasted here just getting at another energy source, destroying mountain ranges, rivers, water and ecosystems to get at burnable rocks. It's like watching oil supertanker ships being scrapped after just 20 years of use, all that steel gets recycled but that doesnt bring back all the fossil fuel energy used to make and assemble it, or to scrap and remelt it all- or get rid of the pollution from all that. I burned coal in NYC and Vermont in the 80s, but I'm glad it's going away, just getting rid of the barrels of ash was a huge pain in the ass, it was volume wise about 3/4 of the coal that went into the furnace to begin with.

[@thosmckew4330]

Gary Smit

[@craigparker3434]

I worked for Drummond Coal Co. in Brookwood Al. The reclained land is worthless. Period !!!

[@garysmith4864]

Some of the land near Hazard that has been mined now has a large regional hospital and many businesses on it. Much of the land is just what you saw, open with animals roaming around, as you could see ini the video. If the mountains were still the way they were before any mining nothing but trees would be there now. It's the land owners choice, the ones who sold the rights in the first place.

[@scottbaker1018]

Gary Smith I hauled coal out of pa.strip mines for many years. I have to agree the land is never the same.water tables are destroyed and basically when reclaimed its just rocky fill hydroseeded.

[@garysmith4864]

I hope you all realize that I made no claim that the mining was good or bad. It is what it is.

[@RobertWilliams-mk8pl]

@@garysmith4864 You made the video as apolitical. Very informative of the process and thorough. I'm a Tree Hugger, but I realize that there is no magic wand. Thank you for the video.

[@garysmith4864]

@@RobertWilliams-mk8pl Thank you Robert Williams, I tried to just tell the story of mountain top removal as I saw it. It's a process and I hope I showed the process as it is. There are also many mountains that have not been touched and I doubt they will be. I like trees also and in years to come those reclaimed areas will be full of them.

[@localcrew]

Excellent video. Thanks!

[@miketruelove8988]

Very enjoyable! Thank you Me!!

[@garysmith4864]

Hey Mike, thanks for the kind words, ME

[@nrgilpin]

exceptional, Gary. Thank you. Remnants of mining here in Northeast Pa. McDade Park has a coal mine tour, and museum. thanks again appreciate your work

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you very much Buck Gilpin, so glad you enjoyed it. I wish I could follow up with more. I have seen some of them from time to time after I made it. It all comes down to the people.

[@markfryer9880]

Thanks for sharing this video Gary. It is a good, if somewhat sad record, of the coal mining techniques at the early part of the 21st century in Appalachia. Thanks again for taking the time to make this video.

[@neilreid9005]

Absolutely amazing machines- wonderful video and thank you for doing it.

[@jimmcgahon6961]

Brilliant video top job

[@jorgemendiola6959]

Great video. Loved it.

[@elkhartgary9675]

Great video. God bless Appalachia!

[@MrMopar413]

Great video

[@callisto8232]

Very well done thanks!

[@stevealber9779]

Great video thanks

[@1978garfield]

This was amazing. Thanks for making it. I grew up in an area with strip mines and now live near to where they build the big Cat dump trucks and other mining equipment.

[@dshurak827]

Great job on this

[@frankdatank9359]

Awesome Video!!!

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks Frank Da Tank. I like your name. I appreciate your complement.

[@Mike3LV6]

love it. thank's for sharing

[@nicholasceea4109]

Enjoyed the video...

[@ferdinandocappelletti6740]

beautiful video

[@OilBaron100]

I love the video. Thanks for posting.

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you very much OilBaron 100. I haven't been doing any video's for a while because I'm undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Hopefully I'll dig up something to post in a month or two.

[@OilBaron100]

Gary Smith it looks just like a coal mine here in Australia. Same heavy equipment. Same mining techniques.

[@nebtheweb8885]

Thanks for making this video. I found it very interesting how open-pit mining is done, and how the equipment used to accomplish the different task's work. A nice detailed portion of how that large shovel worked and how it is powered. Very quiet large machine. Thanks again for posting.

[@garysmith4864]

So glad you like it and found it informative NebTheWeb. Always nice to hear my work was found valuable.

[@user-ie8st5qr3y]

ME , thanks for an amazing 😉 video.

[@jasonharper2601]

GREAT VIDEO VERY INFORMATIVE EASY TO UNDERSTAND THANKS

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you Jason, so glad you liked it. Are you in the coal business or just interested?

[@seunheinlein336]

Morning Gary, yes you are correct, SA is South Africa. I had the privelage to visit the Komatsu Haul Truck factory in Illinois during 2008, it was really impressive.

[@boB7710II]

Very good video Mr Smith

[@Hoosier_Boy]

Thanks Me, nice video.

[@harryhardhead6147]

Very good movie, Gary! I liked that you kept the talking to a minimum and was excellent at anticipating any questions a viewer would have. It takes a great deal of patience to assemble and edit together a documentary like this. Thanks for providing this.

[@garysmith4864]

Thank you very much HarryHardhead, yours are kind words. It did take me quite awhile to put it all together, I wish I would have had the cameras then that I have now. I met many good men on the job and had a lot of fun doing it.

[@harryhardhead6147]

No problem, Gary. I have produced 12 gameplay videos and I know all too well about using extensive edits. It sucks! I never imagined how hard it could be until I went through this process. I see other videos out there but you provided a wealth of information in your videos worth ten other videos. But man - you really have a knack for this I believe. If you want to see some of mine (for laughs and nothing more). kzbin.info/door/AteILOq5EKu3vCsyN2qQZgvideos

[@jackOfAllTrades93]

Love seeing heavy equipment run, thanks for the quality content! My Dad is the Branch Manager at Guyan Heavy Equipment (an MRO shop) in Norton, VA and during the operation of that mine I’m fairly certain Guyan did quite a lot of work for them. Before Dad worked at Guyan, he worked underground in Jolo, WV, and a couple of other places for a total of about 12 years. These days, Many of my friends and family are out of work, and are just getting by. SouthEastern, KY, Southwestern, VA, and Southwestern WVA, are really hurting and I don’t see much opportunity for them to recover. Coal is on its way out and the region needs some other economic driver. What that is or should be, I can’t say, I just know it can’t be coal. I can’t say too much anyway seeing as how I headed up to New York for job opportunities in a field (data analytics) that is pretty well non existent back home. Even still, my heart is heavy for those back in my Appalachian home. P.S.- I’m originally from Russell County, VA, but grew up in Wise, VA. My mother and most of my family are from Cumberland, KY, at the bottom of Black Mountain in Harlan County, KY. My grandfather worked underground in the 30-70s in Harlan as well.

[@garysmith4864]

Thanks for the complement Alexander Rickman. I too love to watch heavy equipment operate.

[@charlesmullins3238]

I’m from Prestonsburg and workin in wise now….know guyan well…I steam cleaned every piece of equipment you see here back in early 2000s…dad put 30yr underground here in our area and retired from booth energy before cancer took him in 19…drive from Floyd co to wise everyday gettin old….