Coal country may not be where you think it is. Shockingly West Virginia is ain coal production. Wyoming produces almost 4 times as much coal as West Virginia, withas many full-time workers. Wyoming's miners produce at a rate of 27.4 tons of coal per employee hour versus West Virginia's 2.8 tons per employee hour ( EIA PDF Report ). That means that a miner in Wyoming produces almostcompared to a miner in West Virginia.With the current low price of natural gas on top of the raw efficiency of Wyoming's mines, coal mining in Appalachia is an industry that may not be competitive or viable in the future. A recent op-ed in the New York Times titled Coal Country Is a State of Mind highlights the disparity between nostalgia for the past versus reality of today's economic market. Today, coal mining brings to mind dust-covered West Virginians wearing hard hats, but a more accurate image is of Wyoming's vast mechanized coal pits.
US Coal Production by State Q1-Q3 2016
stayoungodancing on April 10th, 2017 at 14:44 UTC »
Marcellus shale gas is the new coal in West Virginia. Employs out-of-state workers for the most part.
omgandee on April 10th, 2017 at 13:42 UTC »
Wyoming as large amounts of EASILY accessible coal. West Virginia's coal is much more difficult to extract. This has to account for much of the difference with this statistic.
tommyTwentyFingers on April 10th, 2017 at 11:30 UTC »
Wyoming has huge seams of coal that can be 200 feet deep in places. Wyoming coal is better for the environment because it has a low amount of sulfur. Much of the coal from Wyoming is shipped to the East coast by train, mixed with WV coal and burned for electrical power.