Types of Mining

Bell Mining

Bell Mining

During the seventeenth century 'Bells Pits' was the type of mining used. This consisted of bore holes being dug into the ground to search for coal. Shafts were dug about fifty feet apart and were joined by an underground tunnel to allow the circulation of air. The coal was extracted from each side of the passage. However, not all the coal could be extrated as the tunnel would have collapsed, so pillars of coal were left as supports.The miners manually cut out the coal with picks and hammers as there were no explosives available. When the coal was brought to the surface it was broken up into smaller pieces and then transported on its way.

Opencast Mining

Opencast mining is mining on the surface rather than underground. As the coal was very near the surface, the earth was stripped away until the seam was exposed. The coal was dug out manually, and at first was carried away by hand and later by machinery to be sorted. If there were flooding problems, the water was pumped away. Later, coal was carried in large buckets suspended from cables to Deerpark where it was graded.

Judging by the amount of earth that we can still see today near the pits, some of the opencast mining pits at Castlecomer were very deep. What was once level ground is now a landscape of lakes, hills and hollows. The various layers of the earth's crust are still visible today; soil, rock, shale, coal and fireclay.

Conventional Pit Mining

First of all, several holes were bored to discover where the best coal seam was located. The bore hole was made with a hollow drill of about nine inches in diameter to a depth of around 300 ft from which earth was extracted. This was examined to check its composition and, if the seam was rich enough, the miners excavated a large pit at a downwards angle to allow for the extraction of the coal. When they got down deep enough, they dug on the level. One main roadway was dug with smaller subsidiary roads branching off from that. Some of the tunnels continued on for miles underground and certain parts were approximately only two feet high. In the year 1800 there were about sixteen pits at work together in the Castlecomer Colliery. Twenty four was the largest number worked. From a pit there was usually twenty to thirty containers of coal extracted per day.

The seam was often broken up manually, but from around 1830 explosives were sometimes used to break up the coal seam instead. This was achieved by making a hole in the coal seam with an iron bar and pouring in gunpowder. A straw was often used as a fuse, then the hole was plugged with clay and the fuse was lit, the miner moved away as fast as possible for safety. The coal was hauled to the surface in baskets and sometimes, in the larger tunnels, ponies were used. Steel tracks called trams were used to transport coal at a later stage. The final method of coal extraction was a mechanized conveyor belt which would have been used in the main tunnels. Above ground, the coal was sorted and transported around the world.