History of anthracite coal mining in Pennsylvania 12). Once in Philadelphia, he used testimonials and public demonstrations to negate the stereotype of anthracite and convince Philadelphia society that the hard coal could be used as a replacement for bituminous coal (Adams, “Warming the Poor,” 81). Cist and other advocates including the Pennsylvania state legislature and government officials continued to promote the anthracite, and the War of 1812 was able to open the way for Pennsylvania anthracite coal to outdo Virginia’s bituminous’ share of the market (Day, 371). With the opening of the major canals Lehigh, Schuylkill, and Delaware & Hudson in addition to smaller ones such as
Anthracite times been futile, and several such combustion areas exist today. The existence of an underground combustion site can sometimes be identified in the winter where fallen snow is seen to be melted by the warmth conducted from below. Proposals for harnessing this heat as geothermal energy have not been successful. A vein of anthracite that caught fire in Centralia, Pennsylvania in 1962 has been burning ever since, turning the once-thriving borough into a ghost town. Among current producers, Russia, China and Ukraine have the largest estimated recoverable reserves of anthracite. Other countries with substantial reserves include Vietnam and North Korea.