Thermal coal

The cheapest, most carbon-heavy bulk fuel for power: still the largest single source of electricity, driven by Chinese and Indian demand.

Natural sources · Fossil stores · No. 11

• Not on a critical list
• HHI 2,980 · highly concentrated

The world mined a record 9.2 billion tonnes of coal in 2024, and China dug up more than half of it.

Chart: Illustration: Thermal coal

Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Coal is fossil plant matter squeezed and heated over millions of years. Thick shallow seams in Australia, Indonesia and the US are strip-mined; China and India add deep longwall mines.

Three things to know

1. China's reserves would last only 37 years at its own pace of mining, while US reserves exceed 500 years.
2. A kilogram of good bituminous coal holds about 26 MJ, more than twice the energy of a kilogram of lignite.
3. Only 2% of the world's coal crossed the sea in 1960; by 2013 the seaborne share had reached 17%.

The journey

1. 1 Coal seamBituminous, sub-bituminous or lignite
2. 2 MiningOpen-cut strip mines or underground longwalls
3. 3 PreparationCrushed, washed and blended for heat
4. 4 Rail and shipBulk carriers to ports and plants
5. 5 Power stationPulverised and burned to raise steam

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