The coal plough is no longer used in Australian coal mines but the first Australian longwall installation in 1963 used a coal plough in the Illawarra Coalfields. However, the coal plough is still used in Germany and other European coal producing countries but in diminishing numbers. In Germany the coal plough is being used in over 50% of longwall mines and the last plough in the United States was phased out in 1999. The coal plough does not have any rotating parts, it simply consists of a series of picks that are pulled along the coal face and scrape the coal of it. It is most suitable for coal seams that are realtively soft. A typical plough installation can be seen in the picture.