Major coal producing regions
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China is the biggest producer of coal in the world, while the United States contains the world's largest coal reserves. China and the US are also among the largest coal consumers. Other important coal producing countries include: Australia, India, South Africa, and Russia.
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[edit] USA
In the United States the Appalachian Mountains region is the major area of mining bituminous coal. There are also large fields of bituminous coal in the Midwest and along the Rocky Mountains. However, most of the coal that comes form the Western states are lower grade subituminous and lignite.
One of the largest deposits of anthracite coal is in Northeastern Pennsylvania, called the Coal Region of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania , Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Wyoming produces the most coal of any state, however Montana has the most coal reserves. The largest mine in the world is the Black Thunder Coal Mine near Gillette Wyoming
[edit] Europe
Coal fields in Wales, Yorkshire and other parts of the United Kingdom used to be major mining areas, however during the 1980s and 1990s there was a major downturn in the British mining industry due to increased use of natural gas in electrical power stations and cheaper imports. Very few working coal mines/open cast quarries now exist in Britain. Parts of Germany, Poland, Ukraine and Russia are major coal areas in Europe. Coal is still an important supply of energy, especially electricity production, in many European countries, but is being phased out due to environmental concerns.
Silesia in Poland has more working coal miners than the rest of the European Union combined.
There are large coal deposits in Asturias (Spain), which helped fuel the Industrial Revolution there. However, these deposits have mostly been exhausted.
[edit] Australia
Australia contains 76 billion tonnes of coal reserves [1], or approximately 8% of known worldwide deposits. Australian coal deposits include both brown coal (lignite) and black coal. The premier producing area for Australia coal is the Bowen Basin in the state of Queensland.
[edit] China
China is currently the world's largest coal miner, and it is also the largest consumer of coal in the world. Coal mining is currently facing acute safety fears accompanied by the closure of many mines.
[edit] India
India has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world (approx. 253 billion tonnes [2]). The energy derived from coal in India is about twice that of energy derived from oil, as against the world, where energy derived from coal is about 30% lower than energy derived from oil. [3]
[edit] South Africa
In South Africa coal is mined in several regions, mainly in the East Rand around Witbank, in the Vaal valley around the Vaal Triangle and at Dundee and Newcastle in northern KwaZulu Natal.
[edit] Russia
Russia is currently the 5th largest producer of coal in the world, and is 2nd largest with reserves estimated at 175 billion t. The majority of its coal is located behind Ural, in Siberian part of the country. Russian coal mining industry has recently undergone significant reform, which was to a large extent brought about by Russian coal miners campaigning for change. By 1999 approximately a third of coal mining business went private. Since then, the industry was concentrated in hands of few companies - coking coal producers were integrated with steel makers, and two national leaders in steam coal emerged.
[edit] Canada
Canada holds 78 billion tonnes of coal. [4] This is primarily bituminous and subbituminous coal, though Saskatchewan holds significant reserves of lignite coal. The biggest mine is called Elk Valley Coal in Sparwood, British Columbia. It is also the 2nd biggest mine in the world.
[edit] References
- Goode's World Atlas
