Introduction.

Part of the economy of Sinifaná basin, at Antioquian southwest is based on the extraction of type B thermal coal, which is provided to local an d regional clients. Environmental impacts associated to extraction or production of coal (ROM) vary from the extraction methods used in underlining mining.

Objective.

To show scenarios of appropriate coal extraction in relation to economic and environmental aspects in order to generate proposals which lead to a cleaner extraction of the resource.

Materials and methods.

With this purpose, evaluation of the life cycle impact is implemented, based on ISO 14040 norm, and with an approach from the basin to the door applied to each one of extraction techniques identified in the basin using SimaPro 8.0.4 Faculty software, Eco-indicator 99 H V2.06/ Europe EI 99 H/A method.

Results.

It is known that manual BARRETO method is the least pollutant one; but it is also the least productive one. Hammer drill, on its part, reported a higher production, but only 1.08 more times than the one carried out with dynamite and not in the proportion of 3.6 more times, as it is the of its life cycle impact respect to the crowbar with dynamite. Crowbar with dynamite is shown as the most viable one in terms of productivity against impact.

Conclusion.

As far as 79 % can reduce ICV generated in the artisan extraction of coal.