I used to have a friend who worked as a coal miner for most of his life. He used to tell me stories and in many of these stories he would talk of a dangerous rock/mineral. The name he called it was a slang term and I believe he said it was black, shiny, slippery/slick and could cut like glass not to mention was very dangerous for many different reasons.

Could anyone here please help to identify this rock/mineral both its proper name and what the miners call(ed) it as well as explain why it is dangerous. I remember the cutting and the slick part being dangerous for walking but I think it broke easily and there was also something bad about exploding it I think.

I would be very grateful for your help.

Holly

Holly,

Well it will be kinda hard to pin point the exact thing you are talking about unless we know the region where it was mined BUT I do have one that came to mind.

The Obsidian Rock

It is basically volcanic silican glass & very sharp.



The silican can give you the lung disease Silicosis.

I hope this might help.

Pete, Ohio Vintage Coal Co.

_________________
Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

He was in Pennsylvania, does it have a slang term that miners would call it? Thank you for your help!

Oh boy in Pa ? Eastern, Western or Central ?

_________________
Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

sounds like anthracite to me.....

black...... check

slippery...... well i guess if youre on a pile of good coal.... check

cut like glass..... you bet!

shinny...... check

doesnt really break all that easily, but easy is a relative term

explosive, well the dust is when combined with methane but not as much so as bitty.

slant terms....... we have a few names for it

_________________
Come over to the Dark Side....... We have Cookies!

you wouldn't find obsidian in a coal hole though, would you pete?

_________________
This ain't longwall... this is long hole!

Nope not going to find that in a coal hole. The Obsidian was my first guess before she said Pa since she was from Georgia. I have ran across that obsidian in several places and it is wicked stuff.

_________________
Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

mostly in gift shops right pete

_________________
Come over to the Dark Side....... We have Cookies!

yeah, the native americans used to make these massive ceremonial blades out of obsidian. They find them in the mounds in ohio and such, when obsidian is no where near native to ohio. its pretty awesome!

_________________
This ain't longwall... this is long hole!

Well I am done with this thread. She never implied it was coal and it has turned into another lets bash the Ohio guys thread again.

_________________
Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

rail haulage miners, I would never bash Ohio Mine workers though while I went to college in Ohio , I really hated it, it being Ohio but I think that was a result of where I chose to live and not a reflection of the state. I am cheap, I chose to live where rents were cheap and it was just a matter of you get what you pay for.

Geography...yuck, it would have been the area of Pennsylvania that is near Pittsburg say, not close enough to be suburbs though.

I wanted to say you guys have been and are intensely helpful!

Chris, what are the slang terms

I thought he called it slag (he talked a lot about his work and me not being a miner got all the words confused) then I looked it up and slag does not work for it. Someone else suggested "slip" but you know how when you have heard something before and when it is said you get that great feeling of relief and say "ahh, thats it!" well slip did not do that for me either.

You guys are awesome!

Holly,

I know you just joined & there is nothing you said it was just another typical post of the Anthracite boyz going against the Bituminous coal guyz.

We have two types of coal in the Pittsburgh area.

(1) Steam coal (Bituminous Coal)

(2) Metallurgical coal (Met coal, coking coal) (Bituminous Coal)
--this coal is then converted to coke & utilized for the steel making process

Now as for the waste dumps of the processed waste coal you might walk on:
Gob pile, Slag heap, Culm bank

I apologize that your post got stuck in the middle of another N.E. Pa vs Bitiminous coal post again.

Pete, Ohio Vintage Coal Co.

_________________
Pioneering the next INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Preservation ! ). . . Saving equipment (1) mine site at a time.

could he have been refering to gob rock or black shale?

mmmhollywould,, I know this is an old thread ,and I'm new here .So forgive me if I am out of line by reopening it. But, mmmhollywould, would it be a "Kettle Bottom" or "_______ Head" you are asking about?

It kind of sounds like a horses back.