Coal Links
Coal and Mining (National) Information
- American Coal Foundation, Alexandria, Va. Nonprofit educational organization supported by an industry coalition. Provides free educational materials (teacher packages and coal samples) about coal, electricity, and land reclamation. Activities for elementary and secondary students, a coal video guide, science fair ideas, posters, and more are available.
- Center for Energy and Economic Development. Nonprofit organization that promotes the long-term viability of coal as a fuel source for electricity, and provides information on electricity, coal technology, the environment, and coal economics.
- Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. Provides official U.S. Government coal statistics, coal data, quarterly reports on U.S. coal production, state coal profiles, and reviews of U.S. coal resources and energy initiatives.
- Energy Resources Program/Coal Energy Team, U.S. Geological Survey. Provides information on coal resource assessments, coal on federal lands, coal databases, summaries of the economics of coal resources, a world coal inventory, and summaries of current federal coal research.
- http://www.mining-technology.com/ A website for the mining, tunneling, and quarrying industries containing information about companies, projects, and technology, and news about the international mining industry.
- Mineral Information Institute, Boulder, Colo. Nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth about the science of minerals and other natural resources. Provides free resources to classroom teachers, including teacher packets, posters, lessons, and activities.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Provides public and technical reports, statistics, fact sheets, news releases, and regulatory explanations on mine safety and health issues. A kid's page contains safety information that warns children to keep out of old mine areas.
- National Energy Foundation. Nonprofit developer of innovative mineral-resource education materials. The Out of the Rock section provides online information about how minerals are used. This site also provides inexpensive posters and materials for teachers about electricity production, energy, and mining.
- National Mining Association. Trade organization that promotes the importance of mining in the United States. Provides industry views on regulations and legal issues related to mining.
- Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Department of Interior. Provides information and statistics about surface coal mining and reclamation, including explanations of regulations, abandoned mine reclamation programs, and topical reclamation subjects. The Learning Gateway has information about coal and mining for teachers, as well as puzzles and quizzes for students.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Provides information on and explanations of environmental issues in the United States. The teacher resources section provides background information on a wide variety of environmental issues, teacher activities and lesson plans, ideas for service projects, and more.
Coal and Mining Information by state
- Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. Provides official U.S. Government coal statistics, state coal profiles, reviews of U.S. coal resources, online publications about the U.S. and world coal industry, coal data, quarterly reports on U.S. coal production and energy initiatives.
- World Coal Institute. Nonprofit, nongovernmental association of coal producers and coal consumers, which provides information concerning how coal is mined and transported, clean-coal technology, and the sustainable development of coal resources.
- Office of Surface Mining-Information by Geographic Location. Interface to state coal environmental information through a map of United States. Oversight reports are summaries (by year) of regulatory and abandoned mine land reclamation programs administered by each state.
- Alaska Department of Natural Resources/Division of Mining Land and Water. State agency providing information about various aspects of mining. The Coal Regulatory Program provides a general and technical description of Alaska 's coal mining regulations.
- Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology. The Abandoned Mine Program page provides information about inactive mine reclamation, mine subsidence protection, dangerous mines, and an online manuscript about best reclamation practices. The Coal Regulatory Page provides information about surface-mine regulations and examples of reclamation projects in Colorado.
- Colorado Geological Survey. Information about Colorado 's coal deposits, production, subsidence hazards, and related topics, and information about the geology of Colorado.
- Illinois State Geological Survey. Information about current coal-mining activity, interactive coal-bed maps, mined-area maps, coal data, online coal publications, and information about the geology of Illinois.
- Indiana Geological Survey. Information about the history of coal mining in Indiana, interactive coal-mine maps, coal data, coal-bed maps, and information about the geology of Indiana.
- Kentucky Coal Education. An industry-sponsored educational resource that provides 90 different K-12 lesson plans about coal, industry perspectives on coal-related issues in the news, and opportunities for interactive education links that allow students to ask questions of people in the coal industry.
- Kentucky Department for Natural Resources. State agency providing information about abandoned mine lands, mine permits, surface-mining data, mine reclamation and enforcement. The section on the Division of Abandoned Mine Lands contains information and images about coal mining and reclamation.
- Kentucky Geological Survey. Information about how coal forms, properties of coal, mining areas and mining methods, coal data, coal-bed maps, and the geology of Kentucky.
- Kentucky Educational Television—Field Trip to a Coal Mine. Online version of a video trip to a working coal mine. Provides information on coal formation, mining, processing, utilization, and regulations.
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of the Geological Survey. Information about coal in Ohio, subsidence issues, and the geology of Ohio.
- North Dakota Geological Survey. Information about mineral resources, including coal, with images of coal mining around North Dakota.
- Pennsylvania Geological Survey. Information about how coal forms, illustrations of common fossils, maps of coal distribution, and information about the geology of Pennsylvania.
- Utah Geological Survey. Information about coal and coalbed methane in Utah, and the geology of Utah.
- Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. Provides information about coal in Virginia, remining, laws, regulations, abandoned mine lands, reclamation awards, permit and technical information.
- West Virginia Geological Survey. Information about the history of coal mining, trace elements in coal, mountaintop-removal mining methods, coal data, coal-bed maps, fossils from the coal fields, and the geology of West Virginia.
- (West Virginia) Coal Impoundment Location and Information System. Provides information on slurry impoundments in West Virginia (and, with time, other areas), plus general and technical information on the processes, technology, best practices in coal preparation and slurry impoundments.
- Wyoming State Geological Survey. Information about the history of coal mining, mine locations, coal resources, coalbed methane, a virtual mine to electricity field trip, and information about the geology of Wyoming.
- Wyoming Mining Association. Information about coal, what coal is used for, how it is mined, Wyoming resources, and reclamation awards.
World Coal Information
- Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. The international section provides information on world coal production, consumption, reserves, and prices. Analysis briefs are available for the major coal-producing countries. EIA's annual energy review also summarizes international trends in coal markets.
- World Coal Institute. Nonprofit, nongovernmental association of coal producers and coal consumers, which provides information about how coal is mined and transported, clean-coal technology, and the sustainable development of coal resources.
Coal and the Environment (National)
- AGI-Coal and the Environment. Stephen Greb, Cortland Eble, Douglas Peters, and Alexander Papp. Published by the American Geological Institute. AGI is a nonprofit organization representing many scientific and professional geologic associations. They publish a series of booklets in their Environmental Awareness Series about society’s use of natural and energy resources and the environmental issues that are associated with their use. “Coal and the Environment” is a 64-page color booklet with easy-to-understand information about: what coal is and how it forms; how coal is found, mined, transported, processed, and used; and the environmental concerns, regulations, and mitigation techniques for coal exploration, coal mining, coal transportation, coal processing, and power and heat generation (including the impacts of coal use). The booklet has many photos and diagrams. PDF version of the publication is free online.
- American Coal Foundation. Washington, D.C. Nonprofit educational organization supported by an industry coalition. Provides free educational materials (teacher packages and coal samples) about coal, electricity, and land reclamation. Activities for elementary and secondary students, a coal video guide, science fair ideas, posters, and more are available.
- Center for Energy and Economic Development. Nonprofit organization that promotes the long-term viability of coal as a fuel source for electricity, and provides information on electricity, coal technology, the environment, and coal economics.
- Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. Provides official U.S. Government coal and environmental statistics. The Annual Energy review contains information on trends in environmental aspects of coal use.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Provides public and technical reports, statistics, fact sheets, news releases, and regulatory explanations on mine safety and health issues.
- Mineral Information Institute. Nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth about the science of minerals and other natural resources.
- National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. Provides technical and general information about clean-coal technologies and environmental issues related to coal utilization.
- National Mining Association. Trade organization that promotes the importance of mining in the United States. Provides industry views on regulations and legal issues related to mining.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. Federal government site provides information on and explanations of environmental issues in the United States. The teacher resources section provides background information on a wide variety of environmental issues, teacher activities and lesson plans, ideas for service projects, information about meetings, workshops, scholarships, and more.
- U.S. Department of Energy/Fossil Energy Web. Provides explanations of clean-coal technology research and development, with examples of successful clean-coal research initiatives.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration. Provides public and technical reports, statistics, fact sheets, news releases, and regulatory explanations on mine safety and health issues. A kid's page includes safety information warning children to keep out of old mine areas.
- U.S. Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining. Provides information and statistics about surface coal mining and reclamation, including explanations of regulations, abandoned mine reclamation programs, and topical reclamation subjects. The Learning Gateway has information about coal and mining for teachers as well as puzzles and quizzes for students.
Coal and the Environment (State) Information
- Office of Surface Mining-Information by Geographic Location. Interface to state coal environmental information through a map of the United States. Oversight reports are summaries (by year) of regulatory and abandoned mine land reclamation programs administered by each state.
- Alaska Department of Natural Resources/Division of Mining Land and Water. State agency providing information about various aspects of mining. The Coal Regulatory Program provides a general and technical description of Alaska 's coal mining regulations.
- Colorado Division of Minerals and Geology. The Abandoned Mine Program page provides information about inactive mine reclamation, mine subsidence protection, dangerous mines, and an online manuscript about best reclamation practices. The Coal Regulatory Page provides information about surface-mine regulations and examples of reclamation projects in Colorado.
- Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection. State agency providing information about air quality, waste management, water quality, and permitting.
- Kentucky Division of Abandoned Mines. State agency providing information about reclamation and enforcement of abandoned mine lands , including information and images about coal mining and reclamation.
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources/Minerals Resources Division. State agency providing information about the history of mining in Ohio, mining regulations, coal facts, enforcement, mining fact sheets, annual reports, and a mining and reclamation poster.
- Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Abandoned Mines. State agency providing numerous online publications about acid mine drainage, as well as other information about abandoned mine impacts.
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, Natural Resources and Environmental Management. Provides online educational and technical publications about various types of reclamation research at the Powell River Project.
- Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy. Provides information about coal in Virginia, remining, laws, regulations, abandoned mine lands, reclamation awards, permit and technical information.
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. State agency providing information about environmental laws and regulations. The Environmental Education section includes a natural resources guide that discusses coal issues in the state.
- West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. State agency providing information about several coal-related issues, including abandoned mine lands, water quality, and air quality, as well as other environmental issues in West Virginia. An annual report and citizen's guide discuss several coal-related environmental issues and environmental fact sheets on mountaintop removal and acid mine drainage are also provided.
- West Virginia Water Research Institute, National Mine Land Reclamation Center. West Virginia University research center with information about acid-mine drainage, farmland reclamation, subsidence, and groundwater degradation.
- Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. State agency providing information about several coal-related issues, including abandoned mine lands, coalbed methane, and air-quality, as well as other environmental issues in Wyoming.
- Wyoming Mining Association. Information about coal, what coal is used for, how it is mined, Wyoming resources, and reclamation awards.
Coal and Electricity Information
- American Coal Foundation, Washington, D.C. Nonprofit educational organization supported by an industry coalition. Provides free educational materials (teacher packages and coal samples) about coal, electricity, and land reclamation. Activities for elementary and secondary students, a coal video guide, science fair ideas, posters, and more are available.
- Center for Energy and Economic Development, Alexandria, Va. Provides coal facts packets, information on production of electricity, coal technology, the environment, charts and graphs about coal economics, information about the top 10 coal-producing states, and fuel sources for energy in the United States.
- National Energy Foundation. Nonprofit developer of innovative mineral-resource education materials. The Out of the Rock section provides online information about how minerals are used. This site also provides inexpensive posters and materials for teachers about electricity production, energy, and mining.
- Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy. Provides official U.S. Government coal statistics, online publications about the U.S. and world coal industry, coal data, quarterly reports on U.S. coal production, state coal profiles, and reviews of U.S. coal resources and energy initiatives.
- Coal Education. Kentucky Coal Association. An industry-sponsored educational resource that provides 90 different K-12 lesson plans about coal, industry perspectives on coal-related issues in the news, and opportunities for interactive education links that allow students to ask questions of people in the coal industry.
- Field Trip to a Coal Mine, Kentucky Educational Television. Online version of a video trip to a working coal mine. Provides information on coal formation, mining, processing, use, and regulations.
Professional Coal Geology Groups and Organizations
- American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Energy Minerals Division
- American Chemical Society
- American Geological Institute
- American Society for Testing and Materials
- Canadian Society for Coal and Organic Petrology
- European Association of Organic Geochemists
- Geological Society of America, Coal Division
- International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology
- International Journal of Coal Geology
- The Society for Organic Petrology