Production

The geology of coal deposits differs, and production methods vary accordingly. They are categorised in two main groups:
- surface mining (also called strip mining)
- underground mining (also called deep mining)

The majority of the world's coal reseves are recoverable through underground mining. Moreover, about two thirds of hard coal production world-wide comes from underground mining, but the proportion varies from country to country. In North America, for example, surface mining represents a larger share of production activities than in other countries.

Surface mining usually involves higher capital costs, which, in addition to lower surface coal reserves, explains why underground mining is the most widely used technique. Today different technologies are available for deep mining, such as the "room-and-pillar" method and longwall mining. They provide additional flexibility to extract underground coal.

After extraction, "run-of-mine" coal is processed into a range of clean, graded and uniform coal products, suitable for the commercial market. This stage is referred to as "coal beneficiation".