Overview & timeline
1700s–1800s: Coal first supported colonial ironworks and, later, railroads, steamships, and urban heating. By the late 1800s, Appalachia (PA–WV–KY–VA) dominated bituminous and anthracite output.
1900–1930: Rapid mechanization and wartime demand drove expansion; U.S. coal-mining employment peaked in 1923 at over 800,000 miners nationally (bituminous + anthracite).[S1]
Mid-1900s: Electrification and post-war industry kept demand high; mechanization (continuous miners, longwall) and safety rules steadily reduced labor per ton.
1977–1990s: Congress created the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) and its Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program; the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments helped shift generation toward lower-sulfur subbituminous coal from the Powder River Basin (WY–MT).
2000s–present: Natural gas, renewables, and aging coal plants reduced domestic demand; production and employment fell, even as highly productive mega-mines in Wyoming and large underground longwall complexes in Appalachia continued to supply power and steel markets.[S2]
Basins, ranks & where coal occurs
Appalachian Region
Bituminous (WV, KY, VA, OH, AL) and anthracite (NE Pennsylvania). Historic deep and surface mines; high-vol A/B met coal in select seams (e.g., AL’s Warrior Basin).[S3][S4]
Interior Region
Illinois Basin (IL, IN, western KY): high-sulfur bituminous; major modern surface and underground operations.[S5]
State-by-state quick reference (ranks & basins)
Predominant ranks and example districts/mines (illustrative, not exhaustive). See sources below for maps and technical definitions.
| State | Predominant ranks | Key basins / fields | Examples (districts / mines) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | Anthracite; Bituminous | Anthracite fields (NE PA); Pittsburgh seam (SW PA) | Pennsylvania Mining Complex (Bailey/Enlow Fork/Harvey, underground longwall). [S7] |
| West Virginia | Bituminous (incl. met) | Central/Northern Appalachian | Extensive underground longwall and continuous-miner operations. [S5] |
| Kentucky | Bituminous | Central & Illinois Basins | Underground and surface operations. [S5] |
| Virginia | Bituminous (met) | Southwest VA (Appalachian) | High-vol met seams for steel. [S5] |
| Alabama | Bituminous (incl. met) | Warrior Basin (Blue Creek) | Met coal for coke/steel. [S5] |
| Ohio / Maryland | Bituminous | Appalachian | Historic Consol/Consolidation districts (e.g., Georges Creek). [S8] |
| Illinois / Indiana | Bituminous (high-S) | Illinois Basin | Large surface & underground mines (e.g., Bear Run in IN). [S9] |
| Wyoming | Subbituminous | Powder River Basin | North Antelope Rochelle (Peabody), Black Thunder (Arch). [S10] [S11] |
| Montana | Subbituminous | Powder River & other Tertiary basins | Spring Creek / Decker area. [S5] |
| North Dakota | Lignite | Williston & Fort Union | Freedom Mine; Center Mine. [S12] [S13] |
| Texas | Lignite | Gulf Coast (mine-mouth) | Mine-mouth power plant supply. [S5] |
| Colorado / Utah / New Mexico | Bituminous & Subbituminous | Uinta, San Juan, Raton | West Elk (CO), San Juan/Navajo districts (NM). [S14] [S15] |
| Arizona | Bituminous to Subbituminous (local variability) | Black Mesa | Kayenta Mine (1973–2019), supply to Navajo Generating Station. [S6] [S16] |
For detailed national coalfield mapping and rank definitions, see USGS Coalfields of the United States and EIA’s Coal explained pages.[S3][S5]
Mining methods & terminology
Coal is a sedimentary rock; the “hard-rock” label is not used in coal mining (that term usually refers to metals/igneous-metamorphic mining).
What coal is used for (past & present)
- Historical: home/industrial heating, steam power for rail & ships, town gas, and early electric generation.
- Today (U.S.): primarily electricity generation (declining share), metallurgical coke for steelmaking (selected bituminous coals), and industrial heat (cement, paper, chemicals).[S19]
Major mining companies (historical emphasis)
- Peabody Energy — founded 1883; large PRB operations incl. North Antelope Rochelle; global producer.[S20]
- Arch (Arch Resources) — formed 1997 from Arch Mineral & Ashland Coal; owns Black Thunder, West Elk, others.[S14]
- Consolidation Coal → CONSOL Energy — origins 1860s; grew into a dominant bituminous producer; operates the Pennsylvania Mining Complex.[S8][S7]
- Lignite operators — e.g., BNI (Center Mine) and The Coteau Properties Company (Freedom Mine) in ND.[S13][S12]
Numerous regional producers, captives (historic steel company mines/coke works), and later consolidations are not all listed here.
Employment, productivity & profits (selected indicators)
- Employment peak: U.S. coal-mining jobs peaked in 1923 at 800,000+ miners (bituminous + anthracite).[S1]
- Recent employment: BLS series shows roughly ~40,000 coal-mining employees in 2025 (monthly, not seasonally adjusted).[S21]
- Productivity: Fewer workers produce more tons per hour due to longwall and large-scale surface operations; see EIA’s Annual Coal Report for current productivity by region.[S9]
- Profits (example): Peabody reported ~$946 million net income in 2011, illustrating cyclical profitability tied to prices and export demand.[S22]
Legacy: health, environment & hazards
Worker health
- Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (“black lung”) and silicosis remain serious occupational diseases; NIOSH surveillance documents ongoing cases, with severe forms persisting in central Appalachia.[S23]
Environmental impacts
- Mountaintop mining & valley fills: scientific assessments find cumulative impairment of headwater streams and aquatic communities in Central Appalachia.[S18][S24]
- Acid mine drainage (AMD): oxidation of sulfides (e.g., pyrite) can acidify water and mobilize metals, requiring long-term active or passive treatment (e.g., limestone drains, anoxic drains, wetlands).[S25][S26]
- Subsidence & gases: old underground workings can collapse; methane can migrate to surface structures, posing explosion risks.[S27]
- Coal refuse & slurry impoundments: waste piles and impoundments require design, monitoring, and closure to prevent failures and water quality impacts.[S28]
- Coal fires: long-lived fires in abandoned mines/coal beds (e.g., Centralia, PA) are hazardous and costly to control.[S29][S30]
Abandoned-mine hazards (public safety)
Open portals/shafts, unstable ground, bad air, sudden flooding, and explosives remain lethal; federal and state agencies run “Stay Out–Stay Alive” outreach and secure sites as budgets allow.[S31]
Cleanup: laws, programs & what’s left to do
- SMCRA (1977) created federal surface mining regulation and the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program funded by fees on coal production, administered by OSMRE through state/tribal programs.[S34]
- Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (2021) appropriated ~$11.3 billion to AML reclamation over 15 years and extended AML fee collection (at reduced rates) through FY2034.[S35][S36]
- Progress: DOI reports >285,000 acres reclaimed; thousands of portals sealed, dangerous highwalls eliminated, and refuse piles addressed—yet billions in needs remain, including long-term AMD treatment and mine-fire abatement.[S32]
- What still needs doing: complete and maintain long-term AMD treatment systems (often forever-costs), stabilize subsidence-prone areas, extinguish or isolate mine fires, secure or remove refuse/impoundments, and expand public hazard mitigation in growing communities atop old workings.[S37][S38]
States/Tribes often couple AML grants with watershed work (e.g., passive AMD systems) and economic revitalization projects on reclaimed lands.