An extremely important part of the global economy is its fuel and energy complex. The share of energy production in world GDP is at least 10%. The rate of its consumption is growing every year, in proportion to the growth of world gross product. And the main sources of energy in our time are gas, oil, coal, oil shale and uranium. Oil and gas so far play a major role, but their reserves are gradually decreasing and will be exhausted by the middle of this century. At the same time, coal reserves will be enough for another 200 years, even with the most intensive mining.
Therefore, the global coal industry is becoming more and more popular. Now about 44% of the electricity is produced at thermal power plants using coal. It is also indispensable in metallurgy in the smelting of ferrous metals. Most coal deposits are concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, North America and the CIS countries. For example, China owns a ninth of the coal reserves, while Russia owns the sixth. In Kazakhstan, 3.6% of all world reserves are concentrated.
Leading coal exporters are countries such as the United States, Australia, South Africa, Venezuela and Colombia. Also included are Canada, Indonesia, Poland, China, and Russia. The coal industry of these countries provides 90% of global coal demand. And the main importers of this product are some Asian countries, such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, as well as most countries of Western Europe.
The coal industry of Russia is 193.3 billion tons of proven coal reserves. This figure includes deposits of anthracite, brown, coal and coking coal. Currently, coal is mined in 16 coal basins, which cover 85 municipalities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, 58 municipalities are entire coal-mining territories, which were formed around coal enterprises.
Now the Russian coal industry consists of 85 mines, which produce about 383 million tons of coal per year. For example, in 2011, these mines produced 336 million tons of coal, which is the highest figure since the collapse of the USSR. The largest coal mining basin at present is the Kuznetsk basin. But, in addition to the Kuzbass, there are several more promising deposits in Russia. These are sections of the Far East, Eastern Siberia and the Kansk-Achinsk basin. The development of these deposits will increase the production of Russian coal.
But at the same time, the coal industry is a problem industry. Its main problems include injuries in enterprises. This is due to the fact that some countries allocate little funds to support this industry. As a result, there is a lack of funds for labor protection, and this leads to injuries and the death of miners. “Leaders” in this regard are countries such as Russia and China. Hundreds and even thousands of people die annually in the mines of these states.
Even in the extraction and processing of coal, serious harm is done to nature. It is primarily associated with the constant emissions of methane contained in mines into the earth's atmosphere. Also, coal processing is not an environmentally friendly process. For example, upon receipt of coke, coal is heated to a certain temperature. As a result, carbon dioxide and other harmful compounds are emitted into the atmosphere, and in large quantities. All these harmful substances contribute to the greenhouse effect.
But, despite the fact that the characterization of the coal industry covers many problems, this industry in the modern world still remains one of the most important. Coal is now one of the main energy sources, since its reserves will last for many more years. Moreover, its prices are stable and much lower than the prices of its direct substitutes. For example, the use of fuel oil in thermal power plants costs 1.5 more than the use of coal. And if in the near future new sources of energy will not be mastered, then by 2030 coal will become the main energy carrier.