Carbon the very large masses of carbonate rock (limestone, dolomite, marble and so on). Coal is very rich in carbon (anthracite contains 92–98%) and is the largest commercial source of mineral carbon, accounting for 4,000 gigatonnes or 80% of fossil fuel. As for individual carbon allotropes, graphite is found in large quantities in the United States (mostly in New York and Texas), Russia, Mexico, Greenland, and India. Natural diamonds occur in the rock kimberlite, found in ancient volcanic "necks", or "pipes". Most diamond deposits are in Africa, notably in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, the Republic of the Congo, and Sierra Leone.
Coal breaker 19th century and early 20th century led to the use of mechanical devices for separating impurities from coal in coal breakers. Screens and sorters were used for dry coal. Some examples from the beginning of the 20th century are: To handle wet coal, coal jigs were used. Coal jigs separated coal from impurities by using gravity. Since the relative density of uniformly sized pieces of coal, slate, ash, dirt, and sulphur vary, pieces of each element will descend through water at different speeds—allowing them to be separated. Some examples of coal jigs from the beginning of the 20th century include: