HOW COAL IS MINED
Extracting the fossilised remains of prehistoric animals can be a dangerous business – for people and the environment
WORDSSCOTT DUTFIELD
It takes millions of years to form, but just moments to break coal apart.
What began as lush vegetation around 300 million years ago has since decayed, decomposed, compressed and been heated over millions of years to become a hard rock packed with potential energy – a potential that was discovered thousands of years ago. Researchers have found evidence of coal fireplaces during the late Paleolithic period, around 10,000 years ago. The first written documentation of widespread coal use dates back to the Chinese Han dynasty around 2,000 years ago. Coal’s rise to global popularity, however, happened during the age of raging furnaces and the invention of the steam engine, known as the Industrial Revolution. With just a pickaxe and shovel to hand, 18th-century mining was a hard day’s work for those who spent the day chipping away at coal seams.
Modern mining takes advantage of mighty diggers, colossal drills and excavators to rip the coveted rock from the ground. Each year, around 7.2 billion tonnes of coal is mined from 70 countries around the world. Its predominant use is in energy production. Burning coal is used to heat water into steam, which is used to turn turbines and generate electricity. In 2023, coal was used to generate 10,467.93 terawatthours of electricity. Globally, coal is still the primary fuel for power generation and accounts for approximately 35 per cent of total energy production.