"

The prominence of this type of mining method is underlined by a study prepared for the Governor of West Virginia which states that,

"Mountaintop removal methods are essential to maintain the state's present level of coal production. The lower production costs of MTR have contributed significantly to maintaining West Virginia as a competitive coal producer."

3. Environmental impact of coal mining in the Appalachians.

3.1. Underground mining

The earliest coal mining in Appalachia consisted of various primitive form of underground as well as surface mining. However in the initial stages of mining in the region the methods used were minimally invasive in terms of the environment and "...had only minimal impact on the physical and organic environment."

However, this was to change with the increases in the demand from industry and more advanced technology. "In the 1870s, however, markets began to expand beyond local users. Industrial investment in the...
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