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For other uses, see Coal (disambiguation).
Sedimentary rock
Coal anthracite.jpg
Primary carbon
Secondary hydrogen





The extraction of coal, its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with severe environmental and health effects.[12]


Example chemical structure of coal




Coastal exposure of the Point Aconi Seam (Nova Scotia)
Coal ranking system used in the United States (US Geological Survey)

As geological processes apply pressure to dead biotic material over time, under suitable conditions, its metamorphic grade increases successively into:

  • "Steam coal" is a grade between bituminous coal and anthracite, once widely used as a fuel for steam locomotives. In this specialized use, it is sometimes known as "sea-coal" in the US.[16] Small steam coal (dry small steam nuts or DSSN) was used as a fuel for domestic water heating.


Anthrazit Anthracite 7-12 >91.5 <3.75 <2.5 ~1 <35,300
Note, the percentages are percent by mass of the indicated elements



Hilt's law[edit]

Main article: Hilt's law



Average content
Substance Content
Mercury (Hg) 0.10±0.01 ppm[18]
Arsenic (As) 1.4 – 71 ppm[19]
Selenium (Se) 3 ppm[20]

Early uses as fuel[edit]

Further information: History of coal mining

The earliest recognized use is from the Shenyang area of China 4000 BC where Neolithic inhabitants had begun carving ornaments from black lignite.[21] Coal from the Fushun mine in northeastern China was used to smelt copper as early as 1000 BCE.[22] Marco Polo, the Italian who traveled to China in the 13th century, described coal as "black stones ... which burn like logs", and said coal was so plentiful, people could take three hot baths a week.[23] In Europe, the earliest reference to the use of coal as fuel is from the geological treatise On stones (Lap. 16) by the Greek scientist Theophrastus (circa 371–287 BC):[24][25]


— Theophrastus, On Stones (16) translation

Outcrop coal was used in Britain during the Bronze Age (3000–2000 BC), where it has been detected as forming part of the composition of funeral pyres.[26][27] In Roman Britain, with the exception of two modern fields, "the Romans were exploiting coals in all the major coalfields in England and Wales by the end of the second century AD".[28] Evidence of trade in coal (dated to about AD 200) has been found at the Roman settlement at Heronbridge, near Chester, and in the Fenlands of East Anglia, where coal from the Midlands was transported via the Car Dyke for use in drying grain.[29] Coal cinders have been found in the hearths of villas and Roman forts, particularly in Northumberland, dated to around AD 400. In the west of England, contemporary writers described the wonder of a permanent brazier of coal on the altar of Minerva at Aquae Sulis (modern day Bath), although in fact easily accessible surface coal from what became the Somerset coalfield was in common use in quite lowly dwellings locally.[30] Evidence of coal's use for iron-working in the city during the Roman period has been found.[31] In Eschweiler, Rhineland, deposits of bituminous coal were used by the Romans for the smelting of iron ore.[28]

Coal miner in Britain, 1942

No evidence exists of the product being of great importance in Britain before the High Middle Ages, after about AD 1000.[32] Mineral coal came to be referred to as "seacoal" in the 13th century; the wharf where the material arrived in London was known as Seacoal Lane, so identified in a charter of King Henry III granted in 1253.[33] Initially, the name was given because much coal was found on the shore, having fallen from the exposed coal seams on cliffs above or washed out of underwater coal outcrops,[32] but by the time of Henry VIII, it was understood to derive from the way it was carried to London by sea.[34] In 1257–59, coal from Newcastle upon Tyne was shipped to London for the smiths and lime-burners building Westminster Abbey.[32] Seacoal Lane and Newcastle Lane, where coal was unloaded at wharves along the River Fleet, are still in existence.[35] (See Industrial processes below for modern uses of the term.)

These easily accessible sources had largely become exhausted (or could not meet the growing demand) by the 13th century, when underground extraction by shaft mining or adits was developed.[26] The alternative name was "pitcoal", because it came from mines. It was, however, the development of the Industrial Revolution that led to the large-scale use of coal, as the steam engine took over from the water wheel. In 1700, five-sixths of the world's coal was mined in Britain. Britain would have run out of suitable sites for watermills by the 1830s if coal had not been available as a source of energy.[36] In 1947, there were some 750,000 miners in Britain,[37] but by 2004, this had shrunk to some 5,000 miners working in around 20 collieries.[38]

Uses today[edit]

Coal rail cars

Coal as fuel[edit]

Coal is primarily used as a solid fuel to produce electricity and heat through combustion. World coal consumption was about 7.25 billion tonnes in 2010[39] (7.99 billion short tons) and is expected to increase 48% to 9.05 billion tonnes (9.98 billion short tons) by 2030.[40] China produced 3.47 billion tonnes (3.83 billion short tons) in 2011. India produced about 578 million tonnes (637.1 million short tons) in 2011. 68.7% of China's electricity comes from coal. The USA consumed about 13% of the world total in 2010, i.e. 951 million tonnes (1.05 billion short tons), using 93% of it for generation of electricity.[41] 46% of total power generated in the USA was done using coal.[42]

When coal is used for electricity generation, it is usually pulverized and then combusted (burned) in a furnace with a boiler.[43] The furnace heat converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines which turn generators and create electricity.[44] The thermodynamic efficiency of this process has been improved over time; some older coal-fired power stations have thermal efficiencies in the vicinity of 25%[45] whereas the newest supercritical and "ultra-supercritical" steam cycle turbines, operating at temperatures over 600 °C and pressures over 27 MPa (over 3900 psi), can practically achieve thermal efficiencies in excess of 45% (LHV basis) using anthracite fuel,[46][47] or around 43% (LHV basis) even when using lower-grade lignite fuel.[48] Further thermal efficiency improvements are also achievable by improved pre-drying (especially relevant with high-moisture fuel such as lignite or biomass) and cooling technologies.[49]


At least 40% of the world's electricity comes from coal,[43][51] and in 2012, about one-third of the United States' electricity came from coal, down from approximately 49% in 2008.[52][53] As of 2012 in the United States, use of coal to generate electricity was declining, as plentiful supplies of natural gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing of tight shale formations became available at low prices.[52]

In Denmark, a net electric efficiency of > 47% has been obtained at the coal-fired Nordjyllandsværket CHP Plant and an overall plant efficiency of up to 91% with cogeneration of electricity and district heating.[54] The multifuel-fired Avedøreværket CHP Plant just outside Copenhagen can achieve a net electric efficiency as high as 49%. The overall plant efficiency with cogeneration of electricity and district heating can reach as much as 94%.[55]



Coking coal and use of coke[edit]

Main article: Coke (fuel)
Coke oven at a smokeless fuel plant in Wales, United Kingdom

Coke is a solid carbonaceous residue derived from low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal (metallurgical coal), from which the volatile constituents are driven off by baking in an oven without oxygen at temperatures as high as 1,000 °C (1,832 °F), so the fixed carbon and residual ash are fused together. Metallurgical coke is used as a fuel and as a reducing agent in smelting iron ore in a blast furnace.[58] The result is pig iron, and is too rich in dissolved carbon, so it must be treated further to make steel. The coking coal should be low in sulfur and phosphorus, so they do not migrate to the metal. Based on the ash percentage, the coking coal can be divided into various grades. These grades are:

  • Steel Grade - I (Not exceeding 15%)
  • Steel Grade -II (Exceeding 15% but not exceeding 18%)
  • Washery Grade -I (Exceeding 18% but not exceeding 21%)
  • Washery Grade -II (Exceeding 21% but not exceeding 24%)
  • Washery Grade -III (Exceeding 24% but not exceeding 28%)
  • Washery Grade -IV (Exceeding 28% but not exceeding 35%)








CO + H2O → CO2 + H2



Main article: Coal liquefaction

Coal can also be converted into synthetic fuels equivalent to gasoline or diesel by several different direct processes (which do not intrinsically require gasification or indirect conversion).[61] In the direct liquefaction processes, the coal is either hydrogenated or carbonized. Hydrogenation processes are the Bergius process,[62] the SRC-I and SRC-II (Solvent Refined Coal) processes, the NUS Corporation hydrogenation process[63][64] and several other single-stage and two-stage processes.[65] In the process of low-temperature carbonization, coal is coked at temperatures between 360 and 750 °C (680 and 1,380 °F). These temperatures optimize the production of coal tars richer in lighter hydrocarbons than normal coal tar. The coal tar is then further processed into fuels. An overview of coal liquefaction and its future potential is available.[66]

Coal liquefaction methods involve carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the conversion process. If coal liquefaction is done without employing either carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies or biomass blending, the result is lifecycle greenhouse gas footprints that are generally greater than those released in the extraction and refinement of liquid fuel production from crude oil. If CCS technologies are employed, reductions of 5–12% can be achieved in Coal to Liquid (CTL) plants and up to a 75% reduction is achievable when co-gasifying coal with commercially demonstrated levels of biomass (30% biomass by weight) in coal/biomass-to-liquids plants.[67] For future synthetic fuel projects, carbon dioxide sequestration is proposed to avoid releasing CO2 into the atmosphere. Sequestration adds to the cost of production.

Refined coal[edit]

Main article: Refined coal


Industrial processes [edit]


Production of chemicals[edit]

Production of Chemicals from Coal

Coal is an important feedstock in production of a wide range of chemical fertilizers and other chemical products.[70] The main route to these products is coal gasification to produce syngas. Primary chemicals that are produced directly from the syngas include methanol, hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which are the chemical building blocks from which a whole spectrum of derivative chemicals are manufactured, including olefins, acetic acid, formaldehyde, ammonia, urea and others. The versatility of syngas as a precursor to primary chemicals and high-value derivative products provides the option of using relatively inexpensive coal to produce a wide range of valuable commodities.

Historically, production of chemicals from coal has been used since the 1950s and has become established in the market. According to the 2010 Worldwide Gasification Database,[71] a survey of current and planned gasifiers, from 2004 to 2007 chemical production increased its gasification product share from 37% to 45%. From 2008 to 2010, 22% of new gasifier additions were to be for chemical production.


Coal to chemical processes do require substantial quantities of water. As of 2013 much of the coal to chemical production was in the People's Republic of China[72][73] where environmental regulation and water management[74] was weak.[75]

Coal as a traded commodity[edit]



The price of coal increased from around $30.00 per short ton in 2000 to around $150.00 per short ton as of September 2008. As of October 2008, the price per short ton had declined to $111.50. Prices further declined to $71.25 as of October 2010.[78] In early 2015, it was trading near $56/ton.[79]

Environmental and health effects[edit]


Health effects[edit]

Despite significant economic benefits of using coal as fuel, a number of adverse health[80] and environmental effects of coal burning, [81] especially in power stations, and of coal mining, exist. The London smog was caused in part by the heavy use of coal for heating and cooking.

It has been estimated that coal-fired power plants cause nearly 24,000 premature deaths annually in the United States, including 2,800 from lung cancer.[82] Annual health costs in Europe from use of coal to generate electricity are €42.8 billion, or $55 billion.[83] The WHO classifies coal as a "dirty fuel" and encourages the movement away from such fuels towards cleaner alternatives. The disease and mortality burden of coal use today falls most heavily upon China.[84][85][86]

Breathing in coal dust causes coalworker's pneumoconiosis which is known colloquially as "black lung", so-called because the coal dust literally turns the lungs black from their usual pink color.[87] In the United States alone, it is estimated that 1500 former employees of the coal industry die every year from the effects of breathing in coal mine dust.[88] Coal ash is hazardous and toxic to human beings and other living things.[89]

The American Lung Association, the American Nurses' Association, and the Physicians for Social Responsibility released a report in 2009 which detailed in depth the detrimental effects coal has on human health, on both workers in the mines, as well as individuals living in communities where coal is burned as a power source. The report provides detailed medical information on how the burning of coal for fuel damages the lungs, heart, and nervous system. Coal as an environmental air pollutant has been shown to contribute to asthma, strokes, reduced intelligence, artery blockages, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, arrythmias, mercury poisoining, arterial occlusion, and lung cancer.[12] More recently, the Chicago School of Public Health released a largely similar report, echoing many of the same findings.[90] A 2010 study by the Clean Air Task Force estimated "that air pollution from coal-fired power plants accounts for more than 13,000 premature deaths, 20,000 heart attacks, and 1.6 million lost workdays in the U.S. each year. The total monetary cost of these health impacts is over $100 billion annually.[91]

Around 10% of coal is ash, and the US alone consumes of the order of 1,000,000,000 tones of coal per year.[92] This means that use of coal generates hundreds of millions of tons of waste products per year. These include fly ash, bottom ash, and flue-gas desulfurization sludge, that contain mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic, and other heavy metals, along with non-metals such as selenium.[93] Uranium and thorium are radioactive elements that add to the radiation dose, especially for those living near coal plants.[94]

Environmental effects[edit]

Water systems are also affected by coal.[95] For example, mining affects with groundwater and water table levels and acidity. Spills of fly ash, such as the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, can also contaminate land and waterways, and destroy homes. Power stations that burn coal also consume large quantities of water. This can affect the flows of rivers, and has consequential impacts on other land uses.

One of the earliest known impacts of coal on the water cycle was acid rain. Approximately 75 Tg/S per year of sulfur dioxide (SO2) is released from burning coal. After release, the sulfur dioxide is oxidized to gaseous H2SO2 which scatters solar radiation, hence its increase in the atmosphere exerts a cooling effect on climate. This beneficially masks some of the warming caused by increased greenhouse gases. However, the sulphur is precipitated out of the atmosphere as acid rain in a matter of weeks,[96] whereas carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. Release of SO2 also contributes to the widespread acidification of ecosystems.[97]

Disused coal mines can also cause issues. Subsidence can occur above tunnels, causing damage to infrastructure or cropland. Coal mining can also cause long lasting fires, and it has been estimated that around 1000 coal seam fires are burning at any given time. For example, there is a coal seam fire in Germany that has been burning since 1668, and is still burning in the 21st century.

Some environmental impacts are modest, such as dust nuisance. However, perhaps the largest and most long term effect of coal use is the release of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change and global warming, according to the IPCC and the EPA. Coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase of CO2 in the atmosphere.[98]

Clean coal technology[edit]

Main article: Clean coal technology

"Clean" coal technology is a collection of technologies being developed to mitigate the environmental impact of coal energy generation.[99] Those technologies are being developed to remove or reduce pollutant emissions to the atmosphere. Some of the techniques that would be used to accomplish this include chemically washing minerals and impurities from the coal, gasification (see also IGCC), improved technology for treating flue gases to remove pollutants to increasingly stringent levels and at higher efficiency, carbon capture and storage technologies to capture the carbon dioxide from the flue gas and dewatering lower rank coals (brown coals) to improve the calorific value, and thus the efficiency of the conversion into electricity. Figures from the United States Environmental Protection Agency show that these technologies have made today's coal-based generating fleet 77 percent cleaner on the basis of regulated emissions per unit of energy produced.[100]

Clean coal technology usually addresses atmospheric problems resulting from burning coal. Historically, the primary focus was on SO2 and NOx, the most important gases in causation of acid rain, and particulates which cause visible air pollution and deleterious effects on human health. More recent focus has been on carbon dioxide (due to its impact on global warming)[101] and concern over toxic species such as mercury.[102] Concerns exist regarding the economic viability of these technologies and the timeframe of delivery,[103] potentially high hidden economic costs in terms of social and environmental damage,[104] and the costs and viability of disposing of removed carbon and other toxic matter.[105][106]



  • Pre-combustion capture - This involves gasification of a feedstock (such as coal) to form synthesis gas, which may be shifted to produce a H2 and CO2-rich gas mixture, from which the CO2 can be efficiently captured and separated, transported, and ultimately sequestered,[107] This technology is usually associated with Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle process configurations.[108]
  • Post-combustion capture - This refers to capture of CO2 from exhaust gases of combustion processes, typically using sorbents, solvents, or membrane separations to remove CO2 from the bulk gases.[109]
  • Oxy-fuel combustion - Fossil fuels such as coal are burned in a mixture of recirculated flue gas and oxygen, rather than in air, which largely eliminates nitrogen from the flue gas enabling efficient, low-cost CO2 capture.[110]

The Kemper County IGCC Project, a 582 MW coal gasification-based power plant, will use pre-combustion capture of CO2 to capture 65% of the CO2 the plant produces, which will be utilized/geologically sequestered in enhanced oil recovery operations.[111]


An early example of a coal-based plant using (oxy-fuel) carbon-capture technology is Swedish company Vattenfall's Schwarze Pumpe power station located in Spremberg, Germany, built by German firm Siemens, which went on-line in September 2008.[113][114] The facility captures CO2 and acid rain producing pollutants, separates them, and compresses the CO2 into a liquid. Plans are to inject the CO2 into depleted natural gas fields or other geological formations. Vattenfall opines that this technology is considered not to be a final solution for CO2 reduction in the atmosphere, but provides an achievable solution in the near term while more desirable alternative solutions to power generation can be made economically practical.[114]


The white rot fungus Trametes versicolor can grow on and metabolize naturally occurring coal.[115] The bacteria Diplococcus has been found to degrade coal, raising its temperature.[116]

Economic aspects[edit]



China is the largest producer of coal in the world. It is the world's largest energy consumer, and relies on coal to supply 69% of its energy needs.[120] An estimated 5 million people worked in China's coal-mining industry in 2007.[121]

Coal pollution costs the EU €43 billion each year.[122] Measures to cut air pollution may have beneficial long-term economic impacts for individuals.[123]

Energy density and carbon impact[edit]

The energy density of coal, i.e. its heating value, is roughly 24 megajoules per kilogram[124] (approximately 6.7 kilowatt-hours per kg). For a coal power plant with a 40% efficiency, it takes an estimated 325 kg (717 lb) of coal to power a 100 W lightbulb for one year.[125]



Underground fires[edit]

Main article: Coal seam fire



The reddish siltstone rock that caps many ridges and buttes in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and in western North Dakota is called porcelanite, which resembles the coal burning waste "clinker" or volcanic "scoria".[134] Clinker is rock that has been fused by the natural burning of coal. In the Powder River Basin approximately 27 to 54 billion tons of coal burned within the past three million years.[135] Wild coal fires in the area were reported by the Lewis and Clark Expedition as well as explorers and settlers in the area.[136]

Production trends[edit]

Continental United States coal regions
Coal output in 2005

In 2006, China was the top producer of coal with 38% share followed by the United States and India, according to the British Geological Survey. As of 2012 coal production in the United States was falling at the rate of 7% annually[137] with many power plants using coal shut down or converted to natural gas; however, some of the reduced domestic demand was taken up by increased exports[138] with five coal export terminals being proposed in the Pacific Northwest to export coal from the Powder River Basin to China and other Asian markets;[139] however, as of 2013, environmental opposition was increasing.[140] High-sulfur coal mined in Illinois which was unsaleable in the United States found a ready market in Asia as exports reached 13 million tons in 2012.[141]

World coal reserves[edit]




Proved recoverable coal reserves at end-2008 (million tons (teragrams))[143]
Country Anthracite & Bituminous SubBituminous Lignite Total Percentage of World Total
 United States 108,501 98,618 30,176 237,295 22.6
 Russia 49,088 97,472 10,450 157,010 14.4
 China 62,200 33,700 18,600 114,500 12.6
 Australia 37,100 2,100 37,200 76,400 8.9
 India 56,100 0 4,500 60,600 7.0
 Germany 99 0 40,600 40,699 4.7
 Ukraine 15,351 16,577 1,945 33,873 3.9
 Kazakhstan 21,500 0 12,100 33,600 3.9
 South Africa 30,156 0 0 30,156 3.5
 Serbia 9 361 13,400 13,770 1.6
 Colombia 6,366 380 0 6,746 0.8
 Canada 3,474 872 2,236 6,528 0.8
 Poland 4,338 0 1,371 5,709 0.7
 Indonesia 1,520 2,904 1,105 5,529 0.6
 Brazil 0 4,559 0 4,559 0.5
 Greece 0 0 3,020 3,020 0.4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 484 0 2,369 2,853 0.3
 Mongolia 1,170 0 1,350 2,520 0.3
 Bulgaria 2 190 2,174 2,366 0.3
 Pakistan 0 166 1,904 2,070 0.3
 Turkey 529 0 1,814 2,343 0.3
 Uzbekistan 47 0 1,853 1,900 0.2
 Hungary 13 439 1,208 1,660 0.2
 Thailand 0 0 1,239 1,239 0.1
 Mexico 860 300 51 1,211 0.1
 Iran 1,203 0 0 1,203 0.1
 Czech Republic 192 0 908 1,100 0.1
 Kyrgyzstan 0 0 812 812 0.1
 Albania 0 0 794 794 0.1
 North Korea 300 300 0 600 0.1
 New Zealand 33 205 333-7,000 571–15,000[144] 0.1
 Spain 200 300 30 530 0.1
 Laos 4 0 499 503 0.1
 Zimbabwe 502 0 0 502 0.1
 Argentina 0 0 500 500 0.1
All others 3,421 1,346 846 5,613 0.7
World Total 404,762 260,789 195,387 860,938 100

Major coal producers[edit]



Major coal consumers[edit]

Countries with annual consumption higher than 20 million tonnes are shown.

Consumption of Coal by Country and year (million short tons)[145]
Country 2008 2009 2010 2011 Share
 China 2,966 3,188 3,695 4,053 50.7%
 United States 1,121 997 1,048 1,003 12.5%
 India 641 705 722 788 9.9%
 Russia 250 204 256 262 3.3%
 Germany 268 248 256 256 3.3%
 South Africa 215 204 206 210 2.6%
 Japan 204 181 206 202 2.5%
 Poland 149 151 149 162 2.0%
World Total 7,327 7,318 7,994 N/A 100%

Major coal exporters[edit]


Exports of Coal by Country and year (million short tons)[10][146][147]
Country 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Share
 Indonesia 107.8 131.4 142.0 192.2 221.9 228.2 261.4 316.2 331.4 421.8 29.8%
 Australia 238.1 247.6 255.0 255.0 268.5 278.0 288.5 328.1 313.6 332.4 23.5%
 Russia 41.0 55.7 98.6 103.4 112.2 115.4 130.9 122.1 140.1 150.7 10.7%
 United States 43.0 48.0 51.7 51.2 60.6 83.5 60.4 83.2 108.2 126.7 8.7%
 Colombia 50.4 56.4 59.2 68.3 74.5 74.7 75.7 76.4 89.0 92.2 6.5%
 South Africa 78.7 74.9 78.8 75.8 72.6 68.2 73.8 76.7 75.8 82.0 5.8%
 Canada 27.7 28.8 31.2 31.2 33.4 36.5 31.9 36.9 37.6 38.8 2.7%
 Kazakhstan 30.3 27.4 28.3 30.5 32.8 47.6 33.0 36.3 33.5 35.2 2.5%
 Mongolia 0.5 1.7 2.3 2.5 3.4 4.4 7.7 18.3 26.1 24.3 1.7%
 Vietnam 6.9 11.7 19.8 23.5 35.1 21.3 28.2 24.7 19.7 21.1 1.5%
 China 103.4 95.5 93.1 85.6 75.4 68.8 25.2 22.7 27.5 15.2 1.1%
 Poland 28.0 27.5 26.5 25.4 20.1 16.1 14.6 18.1 15.0 14.9 1.0%
Total World 713.9 764.0 936.0 1,000.6 1,073.4 1,087.3 1,090.8 1,212.8 1,286.7 1,413.9 100%

Major coal importers[edit]


Country 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Share
 Japan 199.7 209.0 206.0 182.1 206.7 17.5%
 China 42.0 56.2 44.5 151.9 195.1 16.6%
 South Korea 84.1 94.1 107.1 109.9 125.8 10.7%
 India 52.7 29.6 70.9 76.7 101.6 8.6%
 Taiwan 69.1 72.5 70.9 64.6 71.1 6.0%
 Germany 50.6 56.2 55.7 45.9 55.1 4.7%
 Turkey 22.9 25.8 21.7 22.7 30.0 2.5%
 United Kingdom 56.8 48.9 49.2 42.2 29.3 2.5%
 Italy 27.9 28.0 27.9 20.9 23.7 1.9%
 Netherlands 25.7 29.3 23.5 22.1 22.8 1.9%
 Russia 28.8 26.3 34.6 26.8 21.8 1.9%
 France 24.1 22.1 24.9 18.3 20.8 1.8%
 United States 40.3 38.8 37.8 23.1 20.6 1.8%
Total 991.8 1,056.5 1,063.2 1,039.8 1,178.1 100%

Cultural usage[edit]

Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky.[149] and the official state rock of Utah;[150] both U.S. states have a historic link to coal mining.



See also[edit]


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