Coal-mining region

Coal mining and production is a significant resource extraction and manufacturing industry and is a major source of fossil fuel energy in the world economy.

The People's Republic of China is the largest producer of coal in the world, while the United States contains the world's largest 'recoverable' coal reserves (followed by Russia, China, and India). China and the United States are also among the largest coal consumers. Other important coal producing countries include Australia, India, South Africa, and Russia.

A coal-mining region is a region in which coal mining is a significant economic activity. Coal-mining regions are often associated with the social, environmental and cultural impact of coal mining.

United States

Coal mining in the United States has historically had economic and cultural dominance in regions such as the Allegheny Mountains and Appalachian Mountains, where it was a major part of identity and traditions. The replacement of workers by mechanization has had major consequences for the industry and for the people it affects.

Coal is mined in the Appalachian Mountains region, and the Midwest. Most coal now produced in the United States is mined in western surface mines, especially in Wyoming's Powder River Basin. A surface mining method often used in the Appalachians is mountaintop removal mining.

The states with...
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