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The USA: Saudi Arabia of Coal?

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The Future of Coal

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Abstract

In the 1970s the US coal industry began to recover from the depression which, though not as traumatic as in other countries, affected it from the 1950s on.1 Indeed, after 1973 it was given great encouragement by successive administrations. After initially disappointing results production reached 824mt in 1980 but fell back to 815mt in 1981, to 820mst (744mt) in 1982.2 Forecasts of future output are highly optimistic, based on a greater use of coal in the domestic energy system and an increase in exports. With recoverable reserves estimated at 191btce, and additional resources of 2 519btce — which, some observers believe, could make the USA the‘Saudi Arabia’ of coal — there is no physical reason why production should not increase by large increments.

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  1. Peter James
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© 1984 Peter James

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James, P. (1984). The USA: Saudi Arabia of Coal?. In: The Future of Coal. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-17383-9_4

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