The depths of coal mines range from 200 feet deep to 1,000 feet deep and can also go as deep as 2,000 feet.
Underground coal mining is when coal is mined from at least 200 feet deep although they can go even deeper.
The oldest coal mine in the US is the Manakin Sabot area of Richmond Virginia.
The oldest coal mining area in the US is the Richmond Basin in Virginia.
The Richmond Basin in Virginia is where the first commercial coal mining in North America began around the year 1701 and more specifically in the Manakin Sabot area near Richmond.
The country that is the King of Coal is China which produces around 3,942 million tons of coal a year.
China is also the world's largest consumer of coal which accounts for one third of the global coal consumption.
Wyoming has a lot of coal as well and they have so much coal because of the unique geology and climate of Wyoming which once existed when the coal formed.
The climate at the time the coal was formed in Wyoming was mostly humid and warm which was suitable for the substantial growth of vegetation in freshwater and brackish water swamps.
As a result organic material which accumulated in those environments were buried and then transformed into coal that is now found across Wyoming.
The state that has the largest coal reserve is Montana followed by Wyoming.
Montana holds nearly a third of the nation's total coal reserves and most of the coal reserves are located in the Powder River Basin which extends into Wyoming.
The state that burns the most coal is the state of Texas which burns around 962 trillion British Thermal units of coal for electricity generation a year.
The country that burns the most coal is China.
China burns as much as 91.94 exajoules of coal a year.
The country that is richest in coal is the United States which has an estimated 252 billion short tons of coal in reserve.
The biggest coal miner in the world is Coal India Limited which is a state controlled Indian company that is based on production volume.
However China Shenhua Energy is often considered one of the leading coal mining companies globally based on market capitalization and also production figures.
The biggest coal mine in the US is the North Antelope Rochelle Coal Mine in Wyoming.
In 2021 the coal mine produced around 76.51 million metric tons of coal per year and is located in Wyoming's Powder River basin and is owned by Peabody Energy Corp.
The North Antelope Rochelle Coal Mine is a surface mine which uses trucks, shovels and draglines to remove overburden and the coal is then transported by trucks and trains for shipment.
The worst coal mining disaster in US history was the Monongah Mine Disaster in West Virginia.
The Monongah Mine Disaster in West Virginia occurred on December 6th 1907 and happened in Monongah, West Virginia at the Fairmont Coal Company's Number 6 and Number 8 mines.
The cause of the Monongah Mine Disaster in West Virginia was an explosion that destroyed the mine and the surface and blocked entrances and caused cave ins and released deadly gases.
The official death toll from the Monongah Mine Disaster in West Virginia was 362 but it's estimated that closer to 500 people died.
On April 26, 1942, in the Benxihu (Honkeiko) coal mine in Liaoning Province, China, what is believed to be the worst mining disaster in history occurred when a coal dust explosion killed over 1,500 people.
The mention of 59 died to save 1 in a mine disaster, is actually based on a real life mining disaster at the Jokerville Mine, in Crested Butte, Colorado.
The disaster occurred on January 24, 1884.
On April 26, 1942 A coal-dust explosion at Benxihu Colliery in Japanese occupied China killed 1,549 making it the worst disaster in the history of coal mining superseding the 1,099 death toll of the Courrières mine disaster in 1906 and the second worst recorded energy accident, in terms of lives lost on a single day.