Major coal producing regions 1681743 219329366 2008-06-14T18:31:37Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other [[Image:T629172A.gif|right|thumb|350px|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. China and the US are also among the largest coal consumers. Other important coal producing countries include: Australia, India, South Africa, and Russia. ==USA== {{main|Coal power in the United States}} [[Image:Us coal regions 1996.png|right|thumb|350px|US coal regions.]] 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]]. ==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. ==Australia== [[Australia]] contains 76 billion tonnes of coal reserves [http://www.australiancoal.com.au/resources.htm], 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]]. ==China== {{main|Coal power in 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. ==India== [[India]] has some of the largest reserves of coal in the world (approx. 253 billion tonnes [http://www.coalindia.nic.in/coalreserve.htm]). 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. [http://www.diehardindian.com/infra/coal.htm] ==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, South Africa|Dundee]] and [[Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal|Newcastle]] in northern [[KwaZulu Natal]]. ==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. ==Canada== [[Canada]] holds 78 billion tonnes of coal. [http://www2.nrcan.gc.ca/es/ener2000/online/html/chap3e_e.cfm] This is primarily [[Bituminous Coal|bituminous]] and [[Sub-bituminous coal|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 Elk Valley Coal Corporation in this area. ==References== *''Goode's World Atlas'' ==See also== *[[Coal-mining region]] ==External links== *[http://www.ket.org Kentucky Educational Television site] *[http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/reserves/reserves.html US Department of Energy estimates of worldwide reserves of coal] [[Category:Coal mining]] [[Category:Mining by region|Coal]]