Leading countries based on hard coal production 2018

China is by far the leading hard coal producer worldwide. In 2018, the economic powerhouse was responsible for over 3.5 billion metric tons of hard coal produced. In 2019, China was also the leading global coal consumer, at 82 exajoules. Hard coal refers to anthracite, which has the highest density and least volatile matter among all forms of coals. In the past it was the main fuel for locomotives and today is used primarily for metallurgy. It is differentiated from soft coal, or bituminous coal, which has a lower fixed carbon content and includes greater amounts of sulfur and nitrogen.

United States has greatest hard coal reserves

Although China has the largest hard coal production output, the United States holds the greatest reserves of the highly sought-after coal type. As of 2018, nearly 220 billion metric tons of hard coal were accessible to U.S. miners.

Coal and electricity

Anthracite is counted among thermal coals or steam coals, which are a blend of different coal types used to generate electricity. Thermal coals also include bituminous coal and lignite and may be ground into a powder and mixed depending on the furnace system they will be used for. Since 1985, worldwide generation of coal-fired power increased by roughly 3.7 petawatt hours to a peak of approximately ten terawatt hours in 2018.