You can still find coal in 53 of the state’s 55 counties, but only 43 have economically recoverable reserves. The coal industry accounts for 30,000 jobs in West Virginia, down from a post-World War II peak of 131,700 and about 60,000 in the mid-1970s.
The same story can be told across the country...
Though we’ve witnessed many booms and busts in the coal industry over the years, things are looking grim in 2017. Most of the big players in the sector have filed for bankruptcy. The natural gas revolution and stricter environmental regulations have devastated coal use and demand in the U.S. over the past decade. That trend isn’t going to reverse anytime soon. But we believe the death of coal is a myth. You see, around the world, coal demand is on the rise . And with a coal supply that’s among the world’s largest, the U.S. is in a prime position to profit in the coming years. The Basics About Coal The U.S. has the second-largest supply of coal in the world, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). We have an estimated 260 billion short tons of recoverable coal reserves underground. That’s the amount of coal that can be mined with today’s technology and access limitations. As you can see from the following chart, that’s more than one-fifth of all the world’s recoverable coal reserves. China (at 23%) had slightly more than that, while Russia (14%) was the only other country with a double-digit share.
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