Coal is a non-renewable ore extracted from underground through mining. It is a fossil fuel that was used extensively in the First Industrial Revolution. This ore has a black or brown color, made up of carbon and magnesium atoms. In the fossil fuel category, coal has the largest reserves in the world. On the planet, the largest coal producers are Russia 56.5%, the United States 19.5%, China 9.5%, Canada 7.8%, Europe 5.0%, Africa 1.3% and others 0, 4%.
The ore in question was formed millions of years ago. The process of its formation took place from trunks, roots, branches and leaves of giant trees. All these vegetable fragments, after they had died, were deposited and buried by sediments. Through great pressure and extremely high temperatures, they were gradually transformed into coal ore, this 300 million years ago.
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The stages of ore formation took place first with the constitution of peat, then lignite, bituminous coal and anthracite. Across the globe there are approximately 8 trillion tons of exploration viable coal.
Coal was and still is one of the main sources of energy, surpassed only by oil. At least 23.3% of the energy consumed comes from coal.
By Eduardo de Freitas
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "Formation of mineral coal"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/formacao-carvao-mineral.htm. Accessed on July 27, 2021.
