Frequently Asked Questions
How large are U.S. coal reserves?
Categories and estimated amounts of U.S. coal reserves as of January 1, 2016:
Recoverable reserves at producing mines totaled 18,327 million short tons. Recoverable reserves at producing mines represent the quantity of coal that can be recovered (mined) from existing coal reserves at active mines. These reserves essentially reflect the working inventory at producing mines.
Estimated recoverable reserves totaled 254,896 million short tons. Estimated recoverable reserves includes coal in the demonstrated reserve base considered recoverable after excluding coal estimated to be unavailable because of land use restrictions, and after applying assumed mining recovery rates. This estimate does not include specific economic feasibility criteria.
The demonstrated reserve base was estimated to contain 477,078 million short tons. The demonstrated reserve base is composed of coal resources that have been identified to specified levels of accuracy and that may support economic mining under current technologies. The demonstrated reserve base includes publicly available data on coal that has been mapped and verified to be technologically minable.
Learn more:
U.S. Coal Reserves
Energy Explained: How Much Coal Is Left?
Last updated: February 28, 2017
Other FAQs about Coal
- Does EIA have county-level energy production data?
- Does EIA have projections for energy production, consumption, and prices for individual states?
- Does EIA publish coking coal prices?
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- How do I convert between short tons and metric tons?
- How large are U.S. coal reserves?
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- How much coal, natural gas, or petroleum is used to generate a kilowatthour of electricity?
- Which states produce the most coal?
- To what country does the United States export the most coal?
- What are the different coal prices published by EIA?
- What is the average heat content of U.S. coal?
- What types and amounts of energy are produced in each state?