- Coal-mining region
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World coal producers and consumers.
Coal reserves in BTUs as of 2009Coal mining and production is a significant resource extraction and manufacturing industry and is a major source of fossil fuel energy in the world economy.
The People's Republic of China is the largest producer of coal in the world, while the United States contains the world's largest 'recoverable' coal reserves (followed by Russia, China, and India).[1] China and the United States are also among the largest coal consumers. Other important coal producing countries include Australia, India, South Africa, and Russia.
A coal-mining region is a region in which coal mining is a significant economic activity. Coal-mining regions are often associated with the social, environmental and cultural impact of coal mining.
Contents
United States
Coal regions of the United StatesSee also: Coal mining in the United States and List of coal mines in the United StatesCoal mining in the United States has historically had economic and cultural dominance in regions such as the Allegheny Mountains and Appalachian 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 the Appalachian Mountains region, and the Midwest. Most coal now produced in the United States is mined in western surface mines, especially in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.[2] A surface mining method often used in the Appalachians is mountaintop removal mining.
The states with the largest recoverable coal reserves are, in descending order, Wyoming, West Virginia, Illinois, and Montana.[3] The largest single mine in the United States 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]
Areas with significant coal mining activities include:
- Coal Region of Pennsylvania - One of the largest deposits of anthracite coal, the region is in Northeastern Pennsylvania, in the central Appalachian Mountains comprising Lackawanna, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Schuylkill, Northumberland, and the extreme northeast corner of Dauphin counties. Major population centers include Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Pottsville
- West Virginia - see economy of West Virginia
- Eastern Mountain Coal Fields and Western Coal Fields of Kentucky
- Southern Illinois Coal Fields, including the Harrisburg Coal Field
- Colorado - including Denver Basin. - see coal mining in Colorado
- Powder River Basin
- Raton Basin
Europe
Coalfields of Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Northern FranceSilesia in Poland and Czech Republic has more working coal miners than the rest of the European Union combined.
United Kingdom - Britain had major coal-mining activity in the past, but since the 1980s coal mining has been in decline due to the increased use of natural gas in electrical power stations and cheaper imports. Very few working coal mines and open-cast quarries now exist in Britain.
- In England, the West Midlands region, which covers the western part of the English Midlands. The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation in the region that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton. 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 in Staffordshire), its coal coking operations, and other heavy industry, including iron foundries and steel mills that used local coal to fire their furnaces, all of which produced a level of air pollution that had few equals anywhere in the world.
- The Kent coalfield in Kent in South East England also had coal mining operations. In South West England, Somerset was the location of the Somerset coalfields until 1973. Yorkshire in North West England also was formerly home to major coal mining operations.
- In Wales, the South Wales coalfield in South Wales was formerly a coalfield.
Spain There are large coal deposits in Asturias and León which helped fuel the Industrial Revolution in Spain; these have mostly been exhausted.
Ukraine Donbas, Volyn, and Halychyna are coal-mining regions.
Romania The Jiu Valley is a coal-mining region.
Serbia The REMBAS region near the Resava River is a coal-mining region.
Germany The Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Lusatia, and the Central Germany lignite mining area are some of the coal-mining regions[5]. 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.
Netherlands Limburg was a coal-mining region until 1973; See mining in Limburg
France Nord-Pas de Calais, Saint-Etienne (Loire) and Lorraine were the major coal-mining regions.
Russia Kuznetsk Basin of southwestern Siberia is a coal-mining region.
Australia
See also: Coal mining in AustraliaAustralia contains 76 billion tonnes of coal reserves, or approximately 8 percent of known worldwide deposits. Australian coal deposits include both lignite (brown coal) and black coal. The premier producing areas for Australian coal are the Bowen Basin in the state of Queensland, the Hunter Valley region in the state of New South Wales, and the Latrobe Valley in the state of Victoria. [2]
China
Main article: Coal mining in ChinaChina is currently the world's largest coal miner, and it is also the largest consumer of coal in the world.
Mongolia
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]
India
Main article: Coal mining in IndiaIndia has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world (approx. 267 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.
The top producing states are:
- Orissa - see Talcher in Angul district
- Chattisgarh
- Jharkhand
Other notable coal-mining areas include:
- Singareni collieries in Khammam district, Andhra Pradesh
- Jharia mines in Dhanbad district, Jharkhand
- Orissa
- Nagpur & Chandrapur district, Maharashtra
- Raniganj in Bardhaman district, West Bengal
- Neyveli lignite mines in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu
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.[10]
Russia
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 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.
Canada
Canada holds 78 billion tonnes of coal, primarily bituminous and sub-bituminous, 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. [4]
See also: Western Canadian Sedimentary Basinby this ficture india is consuming & even producing
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
- ^ See German Wikipedia for a detailed listing
- ^ Badgaa, Ganbaatar. "Current Status of and Prospects for Energy Resources and Infrastructure Development of South Gobi in Mongolia". Ministry of Fuel and Energy Mongolia, Department of Fuel Policy and Regulation. http://www.keei.re.kr/keei/download/seminar/080703/s1-4.pdf. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ "Investment Opportunity: Minerals". Foreign Investment and Foreign Trade Agency (FIFTA) The Government of Mongolia. http://www.investmongolia.com/index.php?sel=menu&mnl=5_2. Retrieved 28 August 2010.
- ^ 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]
See also
External links
Coal in nature Coal by grade Coal combustion Coal mining Coal types are ordered by grade. 1: peat is considered a precursor to coal, while graphite is only technically considered a coal type Categories:- Coal mining regions
- Coal mining
- Mining by region
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