Coal producing regions
China is the biggest producer of coal in the world, while the United States contains the worlds largest coal reserves.
USA
In the United States the Appalachian Mountains region is the major area of mining bituminous coal. There are also large fields of bituminous coal in the Midwest and along the Rocky Mountains. However, most of the coal that comes form the Western states are lower grade subituminous and lignite. One of the largest deposits of anthracite coal is in Northeastern Pennsylvania, called the Coal Region of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania , Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Wyoming produces the most coal of any state, however Montana has the most coal reserves.
Europe
Coal fields in South Wales, Yorkshire and other parts of the United Kingdom used to be major mining areas, however during the 1980's and 1990's there was a major downturn in the British mining industry. Very few working coal mines/open cast quarries now exist in Britain. Parts of Germany, Poland,Ukraine and Russia are major coal areas in Europe. Coal is still an important supply of energy, especially electricity production, in many European countries, but is being phased out due to environmental concerns.
Australia
Australia contains 76 billion tonnes of coal reserves [1], or approximately 8% of known worldwide deposits. It is commonly referred to as brown coal.
References
- Goode's World Atlas