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The first phase of coal handling is the mining operation <br /> and movement of the coal from the underground workings to mine <br /> portal storage bins . <br /> When the room and pillar mining method is utilized , the <br /> coal is cut at the face by a continuous mining machine and loaded <br /> into shuttle cars . The shuttle cars haul the coal to the dumping <br /> point and dump it into a feederbreaker . Here the coal is broken <br /> into sizes no greater than 8 inches in diameter and fed onto a <br /> conveyor belt and transported to the surface. Before being <br /> deposited into the mine portal storage bins from the conveyor <br /> belt, the coal is sized in rotary breaker screens and trash and <br /> coarse refuse material are removed and discarded in a solid waste <br /> disposal area. <br /> When the longwall method of mining coal is utilized the <br /> major difference is that the coal is cut along a longwall by a <br /> shearing machine and not by a continuous miner . After the coal <br /> is cut from the face by a shearer, it falls into an armored chain <br /> conveyor that takes it to the headgate and discharges it into a <br /> stage loader . The stage loader feeds the coal directly onto the <br /> conveyor belt and from this point on the longwall mined coal is <br /> handled the same as that mined by continuous miners . This <br /> completes the first phase of coal handling . <br /> The second phase of coal handling consists of moving <br /> the coal from the mine portal storage bins to the preparation <br /> plant bins and/or stockpile. This is done with 30 ton off- <br /> highway haul trucks . <br />