Glossary of Mining Terms
A Abutment In coal mining 1 the weight of the rocks above a narrow roadway is transferred to the solid coal along the sides which act as abutments of the arch of strata spanning the roadway and 2 the weight of the rocks over a longwall face is transferred to the front abutment that is the solid coal ahead of the face and the back abutment that is the settled packs behind the face