List of countries by coal reserves

Background

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements; chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.

As a fossil fuel burned for heat, coal supplies about a quarter of the world's primary energy and two-fifths of its electricity.

The largest consumer and importer of coal is China. China mines almost half the world's coal, followed by India with about a tenth. Australia accounts for about a third of world coal exports, followed by Indonesia and Russia.

Coal is largely held in the Earth in areas that it needs to be mined from, and is generally present in coal seams.

Estimation of proved reserves

Unlike "resources", which is the amount that could technically be extracted, according to BP in 2019 "total proved reserves of coal" is "generally taken to be those quantities that geological and engineering information indicates with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions".

Unlike the internationally traded commodities hard or soft coal, lignite is not traded far from the place where it is mined because of its low value relative to transport costs, so it does not have a national price. For example lignite costs within India vary greatly.

List in 2018

References

References

1. (2019). "BP Statistical review of world energy 2019". [[BP.
2. "About the statistical review".
3. "Coal proved reserves".
4. Blander, M. "Calculations of the Influence of Additives on Coal Combustion Deposits". Argonne National Laboratory.
5. "Global energy data". [[International Energy Agency]].
6. "Global energy data". [[International Energy Agency]].
7. "How much coal is left – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)".
8. (2014-09-11). "Why is there no lignite market?".
9. "Lignite at Best Price in India".