Coal mining

Taking coal from underground seams or open pits.

Capture · Fossil and nuclear · No. 43

• Capture
• Output: Solid fuel

Coal still met about 28% of world energy use in 2024, and its mines leaked 43 Mt of methane in 2025.

Chart: Illustration: Coal mining

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Coal lies in seams deep underground or near the surface. Miners reach it through tunnels with longwall shearers, or by blasting away the rock above with draglines and trucks.

Three things to know

1. Surface strip mines recover about 92% of a seam, but room and pillar mines leave about 38% behind as roof-holding pillars.
2. About 20.6% of Central Appalachian coal miners show signs of black lung disease.
3. Mountaintop removal has cleared 2,040 square miles of Appalachian forest and buried 2,000 miles of streams under waste rock.

The journey

1. 1 SeamAncient plant carbon buried in rock
2. 2 MiningLongwall, room and pillar, or open pit
3. 3 WashingRock removed, 80-82% kept as coal
4. 4 BurningPower plants emit about 820 g CO2e/kWh

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