[Coach_Owens87]

First let me say thanks for bringing the error to my attention, I intended to say "but it's NOT due to the coal industry.

"Majority not Everything" Maybe you should just go ahead and say if it agrees with your views then it's right and if not then it's wrong. lol

Now your telling me two different stories in Post #20, you stated that "80% of all mining operation have less than 20 workers employed by the coal company". Then in your last post you said "80% of mining operations hire less than 20 workers, although these stats do include other forms of mining besides coal". First you say "by the coal company" then later it includes "other forms of mining besides coal". When you said "45% of mining operations have 3 people employed through the company", I'm assuming that this includes other forms of mining as well. Exactly what other forms of mining are we talking about here?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor the same one you provided a link to defines the Mining Industry of containing 5 main industry segments 1) Oil and Gas Extraction, 2) Coal Mining, 3) Metal Ore Mining, 4) Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarring and 5) Support Activities for Mining. I will admit that I know very little about the operational part of Metal Ore Mining and Quarring and their employment needs, but I do know that there are some large oil and gas companies, and then there are hundreds or even thousands of individuals who employee only 1 or 2 people that take care of a few wells, which would statistically bring down employment numbers.

The bottom line is the statistics that you provided do not represent just coal companies, but also those of the oil and gas extraction, metal ore mining, nonmetallic mineral mining and quarring and support activities for mining, which makes your clam of 3 employees at 45% of the mines and 80% of the mines having less than 20 employees irrelevant.

According to the 2004 statistics Eastern Kentucky reported to have 185 surface mines with 4,901 employees (an average of 26.5 per mine) while 212 underground mines reported 8,371 employees (an average of 39.5 per mine). One thing that could not be determined by these reports was how much equipment was used at each mine, which would determine how many employees were needed an example would be with underground mines 1)How many are single miner sections? 2)How many are Super Sections? 3)How many working sections per mine? 4) How many longwall section? on the surface mine side 1) How many spreads of equipment are in operation? 2)How many contractors do they use ie clearing crews, reclamation crews etc.? IMO just to many questions for a true count.

Thank you for the yes or no answer....that wasn't so hard now was it.

I did not say you blamed the coal industry for the downturn in the economy, it was merely an observation that I was making with the increase in employment in the coal industry. IMO as long as the industry doesn't flood the market like they did in 2001 and 2002 and the demand for energy and foreign markets remain high, employment in the coal industry will also remain high.

No I dont just agree with things from the government that make me look correct, although it may seem that way at times. I just tend to be skeptical of things they say, and those where the only semi-reliable statistics I could find on the subject. From everything ive read, and this includes info from the EPA and the MSHA, no one really knows exactly how many surface mines are active in ky, so I tend to not trust things coming from either of those institutes, also I couldnt find anything from them.

If your stats are to be believed, the my theory on MTR being a cause of the decline in jobs is still true. According to your stats, surface mines hire 33% less workers than underground mines, pretty big difference.

Yes or No answers

No it isnt hard to give yes or no answers, but it also isnt hard to do some comprehensive reading and figure things out on your own. Just my opinion though. I really shouldnt have to give things to you in black and white.

I feel we should get back on topic of this thread. What was your opinion on the video old school, it provided a first hand close up look at some of the processes involved in strip mining. you said that most people hadnt gotten a first hand look at mining, and this video provided it, and from what I could tell, the people behind the video are against mtr? what are your thoughts on this?


Also I think im done with this post, ive got better things to do, like study for some big exams ive got coming up/