U.S. COAL PRODUCTION

Coal has played, is playing and will continue to play a cornerstone role in the world's energy supply , particularly in the three nations which have over 42 % of the global population---China, India and the United States. Even the most conservative recent estimates highlight the vast amounts of available coal --estimating global reserves at "only" 662 billion tons versus the WEC estimate of 850 billion tons. The U.S. situation highlights the extensive scope of coal reserves. The EIA estimates the U.S. has 267 billion tons of economically recoverable coal for 240 years at current use. Cal Tech researchers say about 130 billion tons for 120 years--still enough to meet our energy needs until Halley’s Comet comes around again—for the second time. And this conservative estimate appears to be the absolute minimum. Almost 60 billion tons are reported by the mining companies and there are another 60 billion tons controlled by the federal government. Further, the demonstrated reserve base of 500 billion tons opens up new opportunities, Many of the coal seams producing today were viewed as uneconomic 30 years ago. It all depends on technology and price. Reserves/resources are associated closely with cost and price of coal which are, in turn, affected by technological developments and demand. Clearly, one cannot discount technological developments in coal mining, coal processing and coal combustion/utilization. Technology is constantly improving and even modest price increases open up vast expanses of coal all over the nation -- especially in the Powder River Basin. Significant amounts of coal are in the ground in over half the states. Underground coal gasification is one of the most prosing technologies which will make more coal available. UCG could increase coal resources enormously by gasifying otherwise unmineable deep or thin coal seams.