The amount of coal in place throughout the USA can be tough to estimate as much of it is excavated underground. In 1975, the US geological survey published an assessment of US coal resources. As of Jan 1, 1974, the US had roughly 4 trillion short tons. A more recent survey of US coal resources has not been conducted.
The EIA or Energy information administration uses three main measures to estimate current US coal reserves. The measures are based on geologic and economic analyses and are focused on coal available for mining.
As of Jan 1, 2022, the Eia Looked at the US Coal Reserve Via
Demonstrated reserve base: The DRB or the sum of coal based on resource categories. This figure represents 100% of the coal found for excavation in the USA that commercial enterprises could mine. 471 billion short tonnes of coal are currently available under this figure which is 69% of the estimated underground coal minable.
Estimated recoverable reserves: This figure includes the coal that can be mined with today’s technology and through the various constraints of recovery factors. Some coal may be excluded from this figure due to various regulations and operational constraints. This figure is 251 billion short tonnes or 58% underground mineable coal.
The recoverable reserves at producing mines: This figure is the reserves that cold mining companies report to the EIA from their operations. US coal mines produce 25,000 short tonnes of coal in a year, putting reserves at 12 billion short tonnes of coal, or 53% of the surface mineable coal.
Given these figures, it is unlikely that the US will run out of coal anytime soon. However, as new resources are discovered, and technologies improve, more coal may be available for mining. The exact amount remains to be seen, but it is clear that there is still plenty of coal left in the US. With proper planning and resource management, the US can ensure that its coal reserves are used responsibly for years to come.
This post was written by Justin Tidd, Director at Becker Mining Systems! For nearly a half a century, Becker Mining has been at the forefront of industry safety. Becker/SMC is the industry’s leader in increasingly more sophisticated electrical control systems. Most of the major innovations, design features and specialized electrical components have been developed by Becker/SMC.
