Aerial view of Catenary Coal's Samples Mine, a Mountaintop Removal project at the head of Cabin Creek

Event: Helicopter tour of Coal River and Mountaintop Removal Sites.
In the 1990s, mountaintop removal and reclamation became the mining method of choice for coal operators in central Appalachia. Mountaintop removal and reclamation entails blasting apart mountains in order to retrieve multiple seams of the low-sulphur bituminous coal, which came into greater demand following the passage of the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. Excess rock and rubble are then dumped into adjacent streams and hollows, forming what is known as "Valley Fill." Much of the coal mined in southern West Virginia is "steam coal," used in producing electricity, but some is used to produce steel as well. This photo offers a view of Catenary Coal Company's Samples mine, named for Eugene Samples, a company executive. Various stages of the mountaintop removal method are visible here, including the holes drilled for blasting, the valley fills in progress, and "Big John," a dragline with a 53-cubic yard scoop which loads rocks and mine spoil dislodged by blasting into rock trucks and then dredges out the coal.