ABSTRACT
Introduction of mechanised equipment into British coal mines in recent decades has brought about substantial changes in the methods of coal-getting. The traditional hand-got methods have been largely replaced by the newer ‘longwall’ techniques. Recently, however, there has been a search for some modifications to the longwall method which might help to alleviate the problems of low productivity and dissatisfaction among the face-workers. As a part of this search, serious re-examination is being made of not only the current longwall method of coal-getting but also the former ‘hand-got’ methods.
