Nature: It is a solid, black mineral made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in vai proportions.
In terms of fixed carbon, coals are classified into-
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(i) Anthracite (> 95%)-As gas coal it is used for the manufacture of city gas with coke as a product.
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(ii) Bituminous (42-83%)- 80% world’s coal output.
(iii) As cooking coal it is used in coke ovens for the manufacture of metallurgical coke, with gas asi| product.
As household coal it is used for domestic heating purposes.
(i) Lignite or Brown coal (38%)- About 15% world’s coal output from lignite.
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(ii) Having low heating capacity, it is sometimes used in steel plants.
(iii) Sometime used as fuel in power plants and mainly it is used, as a soil conditioner.
Distribution
U.S.A.
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Eastern province (a) Pennsylvania anthracite field-Scranton, Carbondale and Wilkes Barre; (b) Appalachian bituminous field-Pittsburgh, Kentucky, and West Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee
The Interior province (Bituminous)-(a) Eastern interior field-Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky (b) Western interior field-Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas, (c) Northern interior field-Michigan (d) Southwestern fields-Texas.
Gulf Province (lignite) Texas, Alabama and Arkansas
Rocky Mountain Province (lignite and low-grade bituminous)-Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico and North Dakota.
Pacific Province-Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska. Canada,
Prairie Province-Alberta (bituminous & lignite); British Columbia Coalfields-Vancouver Islands;
Nova Scotia Coal fields-Cape Breton Island.
Europe
CIS-Donetz coal Basin- Donbass (anthracite and high grade bituminous coal); Moscow-Tula coalfields
(lignite); Kuznetsk (Kuzbass) coal basin (anthracite and coking coal); Karaganda field;
Minor coal fields-scattered deposits of the Urals, Pechora, Taimyr fields of the Arctic, deposits of the
Caucasus mountains and in Siberia.
Asia
China-Shansi, Shensi, Inner Mongolia, Kansu, Hopei and Manchurian coalfields-Fushun (the world’s longest strip mines and have thickest seam recorded anywhere), Fushin, Kailan and Hegang.
Japan-Chikugo coalfield in the northwestern Kyushu, Ishikari fields of Hokkaido and Joban and Ube in Honshu
India-Damodar valley in the states of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and important mines are Raniganj, Bokaro, Jharia. Smaller deposits are at Chanda, Singareni, Tundur and Pench.
Pakistan-Quetta and Kalabagh; Iran-Kermanshah
Africa
S. Africa-Transvaal and Natal-Middleburg, Vereeniging and Witbank; Zimbabwe-Wankie; Zaire-Luena; Mozambique-Maniamba; Zambia-Nkandabwe and Mamba; Nigeria-Enugu. Australia
Sydney-Newcastle in New South Wales; Queensland; Gippsland in Victoria, Fingal in Tasmania and Ipswich in Queensland (lignite) South America
Brazil-Santa Catarine and Rio grande do sul; Chile-Concepcion; Columbia-coal at Cali in uiv Cauca Valley and at Pas del Rio northeast of Bogota;-Mexico-Piedras Negras, Sabinas and Lampazos.