Anthracite power, consuming 1 pound of fuel per horsepower-hour, or less. Large quantities of anthracite for power purposes were formerly exported from South Wales to France, Switzerland and parts of Germany. , widespread commercial anthracite mining in Wales has now ceased, although a few large open cast sites remain, along with some relatively small drift mining operations. Anthracite generally costs two to three times as much as regular coal. In June 2008, the wholesale cost of anthracite was US$150/short ton. The principal use of anthracite today is for a domestic fuel in either hand-fired stoves or automatic stoker furnaces. It delivers
Anthracite iron not keep the furnace in operation for more than two months. While distinguished visitors, including Governor Joseph Ritner, acknowledged his success, he sold out his share in Valley Furnace and went to New York City. The research was proceeding along parallel lines across the Atlantic. George Crane, owner, and David Thomas, superintendent of the Yniscedwyn Iron Works, had themselves conceived of the idea of using hot blast to smelt anthracite. Thomas was sent to Scotland to examine Neilson's installation and reproduced it at Yniscedwyn. Crane filed for a British patent on smelting iron with anthracite and hot blast in 1836