What type of resource is coal?
970194
It is a non-renewable fossil fuel.  Oil and natural gas are also fossil fuels.
951441
Coal is actually very inefficient as an energy source.  One ton (2000 lbs or 1000 kg +/-) of coal produces the same amount of heat energy as 18,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 160 gallons (1100 lbs) of oil, or 5 ounces of uranium.  Also coal produces much more waste than any of the other energy sources.
35326
Coal is neither a rock or a mineral... It is an ore, because:\n\nA mineral is not formed by living processes, which means it is not made of dead or once living things.  That eliminates coal from being a mineral because it is formed from dead animals and plants.
36464
Check out this site: http://www.expanding-earth.org/\nSome scientists may dispute the notion that additional solid matter is created from solar energy by photosynthesis in plants and other living organisms, but they should consider coal beds that were formed from trees in the Carboniferous (~360 to ~290 Ma) but are now buried under deep overburden that accreted later. The huge fossilized tree trunks found in the Petrified National Forest near Holbrook in eastern Arizona are additional evidence of mass from solar energy. Also consider the massive deposits of limestone created by marine fauna (fish, coral, bivalves, microfossils, etc.) in earlier epochs and this growth continues today. Today, piles of leaves, wood chips and fallen trees are rapidly converted to soil by nematodes.  The whole question of added mass needs further research to more accurately determine the volume and sources.
456474
Typical coal power generator-\nCoal is burnt producing heat\nHeat is transferred to water to form steam\nSteam, on its way to cooling back to water, runs across a giant fan called a turbine \nThe turbine turns an electric generator thus making electricity
904998
Coal is not actually a compound, but rather a mixture of compounds and so it does not have a chemical formula.\n\nHowever depending on the type of coal, it is composed of between 50-100% carbon, by mass, with the rest being Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, and trace amounts of Sulfur. \nLignate has the lowest carbon content followed by sub-bituminous coal, bituminous coal, and finally anthracite which is almost pure carbon.
1094104
Actually, these natural resources are being used to generate electricity. There are drawbacks to each of them, as there are drawbacks to using coal and nuclear energy. \n\nSome of the top drawbacks to these forms of energy are:\n1) consistency - most people want power day or not, whether the wind blows or not and whether the river is high or not. \n2) energy content - these forms of energy are not as efficient as burning fuel, typically\n3) cost \n4) specific concerns, such as birds getting caught in wind turbines, fish habitat being destroyed by hydroelectric dams, etc.\n\nPutting these all together, there are significant hurdles to overcome.
605947
Here's a list of some sites that should help you get started.\nwww.coalusa.com/store/books/history.htm \nwww.cmhrc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk \nen.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_coal_mining \n\nNot sure what kind of mining you meant...these are about coal mining.
27666
Coal is composed of highly compacted, dewatered, and dehydrogenated plant material (a process called coalification). The compaction ratio is typically about 20 to 1 for bituminous coals. That means twenty feet of plant material piled up to make one foot of coal. The question of where the mercury came from may still be unanswered, but one group of researchers have suggested that the mercury was absorbed by the ancient plants from the atmosphere and soil while they were living. There is evidence that modern plants have levels of mercury that correspond with the levels found in coal. Even though the mercury levels in coal are low at 0.17 +/- 0.17 ppm the process of burning coal consumes such large volumes of coal that the mercury becomes a serious problem in the emissions from large power plants.
590697
>> The Earth has limited supplies of coal and oil. Atomic power plants could still produce electricity after coal and oil become scarce. \n>> Atomic power plants need less fuel than ones which burn fossil fuels. One ton of uranium produces more energy than is produced by several million tons of coal or several million barrels of oil. \n>> Coal and oil burning plants pollute the air. Well-operated atomic power plants do not release contaminants into the environment.
950545
Only one-third of coal produced in South Africa is exported, primarily to the European Union (EU) and East Asia.\n\nCoal is the primary fuel produced and consumed in South Africa . The country has the world’s seventh largest amount of recoverable coal reserves (54.6 billion short tons), approximately 5% of the world total. \n\nSouth Africa is the world’s sixth largest coal producer, producing 245.3 million short tons (mmst) of coal in 2002. The Mpumalanga province accounts for 83% of South African coal production, while Free State (9%) Limpopo (7%) and KwaZulu-Natal (1%) also house production facilities. Although South Africa has 19 official coal fields, 70% of recoverable reserves lie in the Highveld, Waterberg, and Witbank fields. Anglo American’s Anglo Coal (Anglo), BHP Billington’s Ingwe Coal (Ingwe), domestic mining firms Eyesizwe Coal (Eyesizwe), Kumba Resources (Kumba), Sasol Mining (Sasol), and Swiss-based Xstrata Coal South Africa (XCSA) are responsible for the majority of South Africa ’s coal production. \n\nIn July 2003, Anglo American and Sasol announced plans to develop the Kriel South coalfield, from which each is expected to produce 5.5 mmst annually. Anglo will establish an operation on the northern portion of the field, and Sasol plans to expand its existing underground operations at the Syferfontein colliery in its southern portion. Anglo Coal will invest $96 million and Sasol $40 million in the project, which is expected to commence in 2005. In October 2004, Kumba Resources revealed plans to invest $52 million to build two additional coal mines, Grootegeluk and Leeuwpan, to be completed by July 2006. \n\nXCSA’s WitCons Colliery is currently undergoing a $4.8 million expansion expected to increase production by 50%. XCSA is also upgrading the Tavistock Colliery to raise annual production capacity from 1.2 mmst to 2 mmst. A feasibility study for full-scale production is being undertaken at XCSA’s new Goedgevonden Colliery, currently a small contractor open-pit facility that utilizes production facilities at XCSA’s nearby South Witbank mine. \n\nIn January 2003, Ingwe announced the sale of its Delmas colliery in Mpumalanga to Kuyasa Mining, a small South African empowerment firm. The sale of Delmas leaves Ingwe with operational control of seven mines in South Africa , four of which it owns and three of which are jointly owned with XCSA. Ingwe is considering merging some of its operations to maintain its position as the main supplier to South Africa ’s electricity utility, Eskom. \n\nAlthough only one-third of coal produced in South Africa is exported, primarily to the European Union (EU) and East Asia , South Africa was the world’s third largest net coal exporter (73.7 mmst) in 2002.\n\nThe vast majority of South African coal exports are shipped through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT). With the capacity to export 79.4 mmst annually, RBCT is the world’s largest coal export facility. At present, only shareholding members of the RBCT Company-- including Ingwe, Anglo, XCSA, Total South Africa, Sasol, Kangra and Eyesizwe, and JCI/Lonrho/Duiker. Ingwe, Anglo and XCSA-- are permitted to use the export facility. Ingwe, Anglo, and XCSA combined own 86% of the RBCT. \n\nAlthough the South Dunes Coal Terminal (SDCT) opened in 2000 to facilitate the participation of empowerment companies in the coal export sector, RBCT exporters and the SDCT partners agreed in June 2001 to expand the RBCT as well. Because no new rail infrastructure is needed, the expansion of RBCT is considered the most cost-effective method of increasing South Africa ’s coal export capability. RBCT’s expansion will increase its annual export capacity by 11 mmst. SDCT firms will be permitted to export 7.2 mmst per year from the terminal. In March 2002, SDCT firms secured $41 million of the expansion’s $52 million total cost. The remaining $11 million will be financed by RBCT shareholders. The first shipment of coal by an e
705693
Here's a site devoted to KS coal plants:\nhttp://www.kansasenergy.org/coal_projects.htm
878006
Core samples was the way for a long time.\n\nThe ancients depended on the cracks in the earth to bring such things to their attention.  Coal was found this way.  Its burning qualities was probably discovered when some ancient man built a fire in a cave/hollow with coal in it.
858238
soil, timber, oil, minerals, coffee, beans, water, Biotic resources, wind, tides and solar radiation, solar power, bauxite, coal, copper, gold, silver, diamonds, iron, precious metals, lead, limestone, nickel, phosphate, oil shale, rock salt, tin, uranium, and molybdenum, forests, fish, herbs.
1058653
Steam coal is \n\n"coal with relatively high sulfur content, suited for generating steam but not for coking"\n\n"Metallurgical coke, also known as Met coke, is a carbon material manufactured by the destructive distillation of various blends of bituminous coal. Bituminous coal is a soft, medium grade coal that contains a high percentage of volatile components. Destructive distillation is performed in coke batteries which are banks of large enclosed kiln"
413753
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal
639462
Poor regions tend to burn quite a lot of coal for heating and manufacturing.  Green technologies are simply too expensive too expensive for most people in these areas.  Combine that with governmental turmoil in many areas, and you have no resources to tackle the problem.