Coal-mining region 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 Region in the state of New South Wales, and the Latrobe Valley in the state of Victoria. China is currently the world's largest coal miner, and it is also the largest consumer of coal in the world. 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
J & A Brown South Wales. From that time the surviving member of the Brown family Stephen Brown served as a director in the new public company. In 1960, JABAS merged with Caledonian Collieries Limited to form Coal & Allied Industries Limited. After this merger, JABAS become the subsidiary company that carried out the mining operations of Coal & Allied until being renamed Coal & Allied Operations Pty Ltd in 1980. As of 2013, Coal & Allied Operations Pty Ltd is a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Coal Australia. J & A Brown J & A Brown was an privately owned Australian coal family firm