Anthracite production is of standard-grade anthracite, which is used in power generation. Increased demand in China has made that country into a net importer of the fuel, mostly from Vietnam, another major producer of anthracite for power generation, although increasing domestic consumption in Vietnam means that exports may be scaled back. Current U.S. anthracite production averages around 5 million tons per year. Of that, about 1.8 million tons were mined in the state of Pennsylvania. Mining of anthracite coal continues to this day in eastern Pennsylvania, and contributes up to 1% to the gross state product. More than 2,000 people were
Anthracite February 1808, by Judge Jesse Fell in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on an open grate in a fireplace. Anthracite differs from wood in that it needs a draft from the bottom, and Judge Fell proved with his grate design that it was a viable heating fuel. In spring 1808, John and Abijah Smith shipped the first commercially mined load of anthracite down the Susquehanna River from Plymouth, Pennsylvania, marking the birth of commercial anthracite mining in the United States. From that first mine, production rose to an all-time high of over 100 million tons in 1917. Anthracite usage was inhibited by the