III.

Location of Deposits

Coal is found in nearly every region of the world, but deposits of present commercial importance are confined to Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America (see Mining).

Great Britain, which led the world in coal production until the 20th century, has deposits in southern Scotland, England, and Wales. In western Europe, important coalfields are found throughout the Alsace region of France, in Belgium, and in the Saar and Ruhr valleys in Germany. Central European deposits include those of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. The most extensive and valuable coalfield in the former Soviet Union is that of the Donets Basin between the Dnepr and Don rivers; large deposits have also recently been exploited in the Kuznetsk Basin in western Siberia. The coalfields of north-western China are among the largest in the world.

The coal reserves of the United States are divided into six major regions, only three of which are mined extensively. The most productive region is the Appalachian field, which includes parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Alabama. In the Midwest one large field covers most of Illinois and sections of Indiana and Kentucky. A thick field extends from Iowa through Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma. These three regions produce most of the coal mined in the United States. There are large deposits of lignite and subbituminous coal in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. Subbituminous and bituminous coal deposits are scattered throughout Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The Pacific Coast and Alaska have small reserves of bituminous coal. Almost all the anthracite in the United States is in a small area around Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, in Pennsylvania. The best bituminous coal for coking purposes comes from the Middle Atlantic states.

Estimates of world coal reserves vary widely. According to the World Energy Council, recoverable world reserves of anthracite, bituminous, and subbituminous coal in the late 1980s exceeded 1.2 trillion tonnes. Of this recoverable coal, China held about 43 per cent, the United States 17 per cent, the former Soviet Union 12 per cent, South Africa 5 per cent, and Australia 4 per cent. The World Coal Institute has estimated that, at 1998 levels of production, coal reserves are likely to last about another 200 years. The Institute's data, based on statistics released by BP Amoco, show that South and Central America have 7.8 billion tonnes of coal reserves; Western Europe 25.8 billion tonnes; Australasia 47.3 billion tonnes; Africa and the Middle East 61.4 billion tonnes; China 62.2 billion tonnes; other countries in Asia (excluding the former Soviet Union republics) 74.9 billion tonnes; Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (both in Asia and Europe) 113.3 billion tonnes; and North America 116.7 billion tonnes. See also Energy Supply, World.