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Coal mining regions are significantresource extraction industries in many parts of the world. They provide a large amount of thefossil fuel energy in theworld economy.
ThePeople's Republic of China is the largest producer of coal in the world, while Australia is the largest coal exporter.[1] Countries with the largest proven black coal reserves are the United States (250.2 billion tonnes), Russia (160.3 billion tonnes), Australia (147.4 billion tonnes), China (138.8 billion tonnes) and India (101.3 billion tonnes).[2]
Acoal-mining region is a region in whichcoal mining is a significant economic activity. Coal-mining regions are often associated with the social, cultural andenvironmental impact of coal mining.
InSouth Africa coal is mined in several regions, mainly in theEast Rand aroundWitbank, in theVaal valley around theVaal Triangle, theWaterberg in theLimpopo Province and atDundee andNewcastle in northernKwaZulu Natal. South Africa is currently the leading African coal producer.[3]
China is currently the world's largest coal miner, and it is also the largest consumer of coal in the world.[4] China’s coal output has continued to increase and its production capacity has expanded at an unprecedented rate, with an annual increase in production of 200 million tonnes on average. In 2012, the total output of coal reached 3.66 billion tonnes. However, based on China’s existing coal mining technologies, this level of output greatly exceeds the sustainable coal production capacity in terms of resources, the environment, and safety. Behind this huge production statistic are excessive waste of coal resources, a large number of casualties among workers, and serious damage to water resources and the environment. These problems are the basis of resistance for the continued development of China’s coal industry.
India has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world (approx. 267 billion tonnes).[5] 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.
The top producing states are:
Other notable coal-mining areas include:
Mongolia has proven reserves of 12.2 billion tons of coal including 2 billion tons of coking coal and 10.1 billion tons of thermal coal.[6] Mongolia is estimated to have potential coal reserves of some 100 billion metric tonnes.[7][8] While Mongolia's output is approximately only 5 million tonnes of coal per year, it will grow significantly given its proximity to China.[9]
Coal mining in thePhilippines has a long history dating back to the 1800s during theSpanish colonization of the islands. The Philippines consumes more coal than it can produce and coal is the main source of electricity. 20% of the country's coal supply is used by the cement industry (in 2005).[10]
As of September 31, 2005, the in situ coal reserves of the Philippines amounts to 458 million metric tons which is about 18% of the country's total coal resource potential amounting 2.53 billion metric tons (2.49 billion long tons).[10]
Semirara Mining and Power Corporation is the largest coal producer in the country whose primary mine is inSemirara Island.[11] The company accounts for 92% of the country's coal production according to theDepartment of Energy.
Russia is currently the fifth largest producer of coal, and has the second largest reserves, estimated at 175 billion. The majority of its coal is located east of theUral Mountains inSiberia. 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.Mechel controls the Southern Kuzbass Coal Company inKuznetsk, theElga Coal Field[12][13] in theSakha Republic with 2.2 billion metric tons of reserves of coal,[14] and theNeryungrinsky coal mine atNeryungri in the Sakha Republic. Other coal producing regions include thePechora basin ofbrown coal in northernEuropean Russia, the Kansk-Achinsk basin with total reserves 600 billion tons oflignite centered onKansk in southernKrasnoyarsk Krai, Tunguska coal basin in eastern Siberia located between theKhatanga River to theTrans-Siberian Railway and between theYenisei andLena rivers, and the Lena coal basin which is mainly in the Sakha Republic with some in Krasnoyarsk Krai.
Thesillon industriel contains the former coal-mining area,Pays Noir, or "Black Country." It runs across Wallonia, passing fromDour, inBorinage, in the west, toVerviers in the east, throughMons,La Louvière,Charleroi,Namur,Huy, andLiège, following the valleys of the riversHaine,Sambre,Meuse andVesdre. It is also known as the "Sambre and Meuse valley", or the "Haine-Sambre-Meuse-Vesdre valley", or the "dorsale wallonne."
The major coal mining basins inBosnia and Herzegovina are theTuzla Basin with the Kreka and Đurđevik mines and theZenica Basin with the adjacent Kakanj, Novi Travnik and Gračanica.[citation needed] There are also substantial reserves of coal inSanski Most,Ugljevik,Gacko andStanari.[citation needed]
Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin,Loire coal mining basin andSaar-Warndt coal mining basin were the major coal-mining regions.
TheRuhr Area inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Lower Lusatia, and theCentral Germany lignite mining area are some of the coal-mining regions.[15] End of 2010 there were five operating hard coal mines in Germany: 1: Bergwerk Ibbenbüren, Ibbenbüren, 2: Zeche Auguste Viktoria, Marl, 3: Bergwerk Prosper-Haniel, Bottrop, 4: Bergwerk West, Kamp Lintfort, 5: Bergwerk Saar, Saarlouis.
Germany's last operating black coal mine, Prosper-Haniel, closed on December 21, 2018,[16] leaving only lignites mines in operation, such as theHambach surface mine.
Limburg was a coal-mining region until 1973; Seemining in Limburg
Silesia inPoland andCzech Republic has more working coal miners than the rest of theEuropean Union combined.
TheJiu Valley is a coal-mining region.
Kolubara and Kostolac are coal mining regions.The REMBAS region near theResava River is a coal-mining region.
There are large coaldeposits inAsturias andLeón which helped fuel theIndustrial Revolution in Spain; these have mostly been exhausted.
Donbas,Volyn, andHalychyna are coal-mining regions.
Britain had major coal-mining activity in the past, but since the 1980s coal mining has been in decline due to the increased use ofnatural gas inpower stations and cheaperimports. Very few working coal mines andopen-cast quarries now exist in Britain.
TheWest Midlands region, which covers the western part of theEnglish Midlands. TheWest Midlands conurbation is the name given to the largeconurbation in the region that includes the cities ofBirmingham andWolverhampton. The "Black Country" is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands which includes the north and west of Birmingham and the south and east of Wolverhampton, famous for its coal mines (especially inStaffordshire), its coalcoking operations, and otherheavy industry, includingironfoundries andsteel mills that used local coal to fire their furnaces, all of which produced a level ofair pollution that had few equals anywhere in the world.
TheKent coalfield inKent inSouth East England also had coal mining operations. InSouth West England,Somerset was the location of theSomerset coalfields until 1973.Yorkshire innorthern England also was formerly home to major coal mining operations.
TheSouth Wales coalfield provided a large amount of Welsh coal.
Canada holds 78 billion tonnes of coal, primarilybituminous andsub-bituminous, thoughSaskatchewan holds significant reserves oflignite coal. TheElk 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.[17]
Coal mining in the United States has historically had economic and cultural dominance in regions such as theAllegheny Mountains andAppalachian Mountains, where it was a major part of identity and traditions. The replacement of workers by mechanization has had major consequences for the industry and for the people it affects.
Coal is mined in theAppalachian Mountains region, and theMidwest. Most coal now produced in theUnited States is mined inwestern surface mines, especially in Wyoming'sPowder River Basin.[18] A surface mining method often used in the Appalachians ismountaintop removal mining.
The states with the largest recoverable coal reserves are, in descending order,Wyoming,West Virginia,Illinois, andMontana.[19] The largest single mine in the United States is theNorth Antelope Rochelle Mine nearGillette, Wyoming; it produces more coal annually than many states. In 2009, it alone produced over 100 million tons of coal, and has plans to produce 130 million ton in 2012 more than 23 other coal producing states including Pennsylvania.[20]
Areas with significant coal mining activities include:
Australia contains 76 billion tonnes of coal reserves, or approximately 8 percent of known worldwide deposits. Australiancoal deposits include bothlignite (brown coal) andblack coal. The premier producing areas for Australian coal are theBowen Basin in the state ofQueensland, theHunter Valley inNew South Wales, and theLatrobe Valley inVictoria.[21]
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Notes: [1] Peat is considered a precursor to coal. [2] Graphite is only technically considered a coal type. | ||
