Sixteen coal mines are in operation in Wyoming, located in three counties: Campbell, Lincoln, and Sweetwater. The majority of the coal, however, is produced from the 11 mines in Campbell County. Fifteen of the mines extract coal through surface mining techniques, and one underground mine operates in Sweetwater County.
Contents
How many coal mines have closed in Wyoming?
While the report doesn’t break out how many were thermal mines, most were. Overall, the 151 shuttered mines last year represent an 18% drop and a large part of an overall 62% decline in coal mines since 2008.
Where is the largest coal mine in Wyoming?
North Antelope Rochelle Mine
The North Antelope Rochelle Mine is the largest coal mine in the world. Located in Campbell County, Wyoming, about 65 miles south of Gillette, it produced 85.3 million tons of coal in 2019. Peabody Energy opened the North Antelope Mine in the heart of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin in 1983.
What states in the US have coal mines?
Coal in the U.S. is produced in three broad regions: Appalachian (Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia), Interior (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Western Kentucky), and Western (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado,
What percent of coal does Wyoming produce?
39 percent
Wyoming has been the top coal-producing state in the United States since 1986; in fact, the coal extracted from Wyoming’s coal mines accounts for more than 39 percent of the annual U.S. coal supply.
Why is there so much coal in Wyoming?
Overall, this trend can be attributed to the continuing retirement of coal-fired power plants, low price of natural gas, and the increasing competition from renewables. Despite decreasing production, Wyoming remains the most prolific coal-producing state in the nation.
Where does Wyoming coal go?
Where Does Our Coal Go? The vast majority of Wyoming coal is used as steam coal for the generation of electricity and shipped to 26 states in 2018. Electrical power generation is by far the largest consumer of coal in the United States.
What state has the most coal miners?
Wyoming
Wyoming, the largest coal-producing state in the United States, produced 41% of total U.S. coal production and 71% of the coal mined in the Western coal region. Eight of the top ten largest U.S. coal-producing mines were in Wyoming, and all of those mines are surface mines.
What are the top 5 coal-producing states?
NS Energy profiles the top five coal-producing states in the US.
- Wyoming: 304.2 million short tonnes.
- West Virginia: 95.4 million short tonnes.
- Pennsylvania: 49.9 million short tonnes.
- Illinois: 49.6 million short tonnes.
- Kentucky: 39.6 million short tonnes.
Who owns Black Thunder coal mine in Wyoming?
Arch Coal
The increase was a result of merging the Jacobs Ranch Mine – and its average 38 million tons per year – into the Black Thunder’s annual production. With the acquisition of Jacobs Ranch Mine, Black Thunder is now the world’s top coal producer.
Black Thunder Coal Mine.
Location | |
---|---|
Owner | |
Company | Arch Coal |
What are the top 10 coal producing states?
In 2020, about 535.4 million short tons of coal were produced in 23 states.
Which states produce the most coal?
- Wyoming—218.6—40.8%
- West Virginia—67.2—12.6%
- Pennsylvania—36.3—6.8%
- Illinois—31.6—5.9%
- North Dakota—26.4—4.9%
Are there still active coal mines in the US?
Sources of coal production in the United States
Until 2017, Pennsylvania was the state with the highest number of coal mines. Since 2018, however, West Virginia has had the most active coal mines, with 162 as of 2019. Overall, the number of active coal mines is has been declining since 2000.
Are there any coal mines still open?
In 2020, 40 coal mines were opened or reactivated, and 151 mines were idled or closed.The Appalachia region still has the most coal mines in the country, even though more than half of its mines have closed since 2008.
Is Wyoming coal exported?
Wyoming and the thermal coal industry long considered exporting coal to Asia, the industry’s one remaining bright spot.
How deep are Wyoming coal mines?
The Powder River Basin’s Fort Union and Wasatch coal formations cover over a thousand square miles in northeastern Wyoming and include low sulfur, low ash coal beds up to 250 feet thick. Currently most Wyoming coal is mined from coal seams 100 feet thick. These are some of the world’s largest and thickest coal seams.
Where do they mine coal in Montana?
Montana is the sixth largest producer of coal in the United States, with over 37 million tons mined in 2002 (Table C1). Almost all the mining occurs in the Powder River Basin south and east of Billings.
Where is the biggest coal mine in the world?
North Antelope Rochelle coal mine
The largest coal mine in the world by reserves is the North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, US. The mine was estimated to contain more than 1.7 billion tonnes of recoverable coal as of December 2018.
What is the life expectancy of a coal miner?
The average life expectancy in the coal mines for those starting work at 15 y was found to be 58.91 y and 49.23 y for surface and underground workers respectively.
How much coal does Wyoming have left?
Wyoming has 42 billion tons of reserve recoverable coal, and 1.4 trillion tons total that could become a reserve in the future. Most of the coal from Wyoming is sub-bituminous coal which burns at around 8400–8800 BTUs per pound.
Does Wyoming have gold?
Wyoming is a very mineral rich state which has produced gold, diamonds, jade, opals… even dinosaur fossils!
What type of coal does Wyoming have?
subbituminous
Nearly all of the coal mined in Wyoming is subbituminous, and the state accounts for almost nine-tenths of all U.S. subbituminous coal production. Subbituminous coal has a lower heating value than other types of coal. Wyoming also produces some bituminous coal.