World coal producers and consumers.
China is the largest producer of coal in the world, while the United States contains the world's largest coal reserves, followed by Russia, China, and India.[1] China and the US are also among the largest coal consumers. Other important coal producing countries include: Australia, India, South Africa, and Russia.
Most coal produced in the United States is mined in western surface mines, especially in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.[2] Coal is also mined in the Appalachian Mountains region, and there are also large fields of bituminous coal in the Midwest.
One of the largest deposits of anthracite coal is in Northeastern Pennsylvania, called the Coal Region of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania , Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The states with the largest coal reserves are (in descending order): Wyoming, West Virginia, Illinois, and Montana.[3] The largest mine in the US is the Black Thunder Coal Mine near Gillette, Wyoming. It produces more coal annually than many states. In 2006, it alone produced over 92 million tons of coal, more than 23 other coal producing states including Pennsylvania.[4]
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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.[citation needed]
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.
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Australia
Australia contains 76 billion tonnes of coal reserves [2], or approximately 8% of known worldwide deposits. Australian coal deposits include both brown coal (lignite) and black coal. The premier producing areas for Australian coal are the Bowen Basin in the state of Queensland, and the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales.
China is currently the world's largest coal miner, and it is also the largest consumer of coal in the world.
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Mongolia
Mongolia is estimated to have potential coal reserves of some 100 billion metric tonnes. [5][6] While Mongolia's output is approximately only 5 million tonnes of coal per year, it will grow significantly given its proximity to China. [7]
India has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world (approx. 253 billion tonnes [3]). The energy derived from coal in India is about twice that of energy derived from oil, whereas worldwide, energy derived from coal is about 30% less than energy derived from oil. Bihar and Jharkhand are two most coal producing states in India[4]
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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, the Waterberg in the Limpopo Province and at Dundee and Newcastle in northern KwaZulu Natal. South Africa is currently the leading African coal producer.[8]
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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 the Ural mountains in Siberia. By 1999 approximately a third of coal mining business was privatized. Since then, the industry has concentrated in hands of few companies - coking coal producers were integrated with steel makers, and two national leaders in steam coal emerged. Russian coal miners have recently campaigned for improvements in their working conditions, leading to some reform.
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Canada
Canada holds 78 billion tonnes of coal. [5] This is primarily bituminous and subbituminous coal, though Saskatchewan holds significant reserves of lignite coal. The Elk Valley, located in the southeast corner of British Columbia, is host to one of the world's largest deposits of hard coking coal. Five mines are operated by the Teck mining company in this area.
[edit] References
- ^ US Energy Information Administration: World estimated recoverable coal, Excel spreadsheet, downloaded 27 January 2009.
- ^ http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table1.html
- ^ US Energy Information Administration: Recoverable coal reserves and average annuay recovery percentage at producing mines by state, 2006, 2005, PDF file, downloaded 27 January 2009.
- ^ http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table1.html
- ^ http://www.investmongolia.com/index.php?sel=menu&mnl=5_2
- ^ http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/coal/as/mn/p0005.htm
- ^ http://www.southgobi.com/s/OvootTolgoi.asp
- ^ MBendi Information for Africa, "Africa: Mining - Coal Mining - Overview, 2008-08, webpage: [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
