Longwall mining is a form of underground coal mining that was introduced to Australia and the United States from Europe in the early 1960s. It allows mining companies better access and vastly improved recovery rates than older methods of underground mining. It also results in far more dynamic land subsidence than the traditional methods. The effects of mine subsidence upon
man-made infrastructure are well known. However, subsidence from longwall mining has had, and continues to have, a dramatic effect upon the natural environment.