Day Four — Freedom Mine

Freedom Mine, a coal strip-mining operation, is located just north of Beulah. Our friends were friends with a guy whose job with the mine is to work with local landowners. They had arranged for him to give us a tour.

The draglines in the mine were visible from many miles away.

20130907-210250.jpg

There are two plants by the mine. One crushes the coal to produce natural gas and the other burns it to create electricity.

20130907-210425.jpg

20130907-210431.jpg

We piled into an SUV and drove through the security gate. The mine and two plants cover a huge amount of ground. The yellow tractor in this photo is used just to move the giant dump truck tires.

20130907-210310.jpg

Here’s one of the giant dump trucks unloading coal (that’s why it’s black underneath) into the hopper. Each load is something like 250 tons, and it pours out in about six seconds.

20130907-210322.jpg

20130907-210335.jpg

We drove down into the mine where we saw a front-end loader filling one of the trucks.

20130907-210348.jpg

The draglines were in sight the whole time, but they towered over everything so high it was hard to figure out just where they were located.

20130907-210448.jpg

We drove back and forth across the mine until we finally came upon one. To help you understand how large this machine is, enlarge the photo below and look for the green tractor parked in front of it.

20130907-210400.jpg

The dragline weighs 13 million pounds. The boom is 17 stories high and longer than a football field. The bucket could hold 1.5 million golf balls.

After the coal is removed, the land is returned to a close approximation of its original topography, and within a couple years it can be used for farming or grazing.

It was an enlightening experience. I’m amazed by what people can accomplish when they want something badly enough.

This entry was posted in Tours. Bookmark the permalink.