Talk:Coal

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Cultural reference

'Like sending coals to Newcastle' could be added as a cultural reference, the expression is used to describe doing something that's pointless because it's not needed. Newcastle was a major English coal exporter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.200.194.137 (talk) 18:38, 12 November 2009 (UTC)

You're right, of course; but I believe the exact expression was "carrying coals to Newcastle". Maelli (talk) 10:52, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

World Coal Reserves Table

The proven coal reserves of the UK have been misstated as 200,143,000,000 tons or 22% of the world's reserves. According to the BP spreadsheet which is the referenced source for this article, (footnote/reference # 55) the actual amount is 220,000,000 tons. Also, according to the same source it is Anthracite and/or bituminous coal while the table on the Wikipedia page states n/a. --Ittmann (talk) 00:18, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

• An IP made the error, misunderstanding by three orders of magnitude. It stands to reason that there is no coal left in Britain. I have removed the entry. Abductive (reasoning) 07:37, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

UK is fourth from last in the table cited and the amount is not significant in world terms (although it could still be so in national terms). However, the cut-off point seems arbitrarily set at the eighth from last position. For completeness (and to avoid confusion in the future) is there a case for including the bottom seven regions?--Old Moonraker (talk) 08:33, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

The list omits Vietnam, South Korea, France, United Kingdom and Japan because the source says they are below 0.1%. I think this is fine. Maybe a list could be made of total coal mined over all time? Abductive (reasoning) 09:58, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

The article's list seems to vary from the source. I am going to correct it. Abductive (reasoning) 09:58, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

Cut-off point: I see now how it's selected, omitting countries with the ¤ symbol. Thanks.--Old Moonraker (talk) 10:52, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

I have corrected the list once more in agreement with the source cited. Gabriel Kielland (talk) 07:21, 25 September 2010 (UTC)

I have corrected the coal reserves of Pakistan. The BP reserves table cited is not up to date. Relevant reference in regards to Pakistan Coal reserves is also cited. I have also corrected the percent values of USA and Russia which had a significant effect due to the addition of Pakistan coal reserve figure. Adeelyusuf (talk) 10:13, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Sea Coal

Suggest adding 'somewhere' some more about 'sea coal', notably 'what it is' or was, in a chemical/technical sense. Lignite? Bituminous, Anthracite? What it 'was', in past time, i do not know. Anyone? As a current article of commerce, reference: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Examining+Bentonite,+Seacoal's+Role-a062955716

Which might be paraphrased: Currently Sea Coal refers to a powdered bituminous coal, used in casting and foundry operations, to improve surface finish of the article cast. Oddjob1947 (talk) 08:16, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

It's an historical term relating to coal from the coalfields of Durham and Northumberland in England. It means either coal that was delivered (e.g., to London) by sea, or because the material was washed from cliff faces by the sea and available to be gathered from the shore. Prompted by this, I'm just going to expand slightly the topic in the article.--Old Moonraker (talk) 08:32, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

A modern usage also added, but the reference was a bit general and didn't cover the "casting and foundry" suggestion above. An expert review would now be good. Thanks for the pointer—this was all new to me! --Old Moonraker (talk) 09:13, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the interest. Understood: 'sea coal' is an historical term, albeit one with a modern usage as well. Seemed apropos to provide the link, at least for modern usage, to 'technical' grade. Other references to foundry/casting practice usage can be found via, eg Google/Books. Not sure how to reference that? Notably, The Foundry Magazine, June 1909, P 194: .

Should the added 'foundry' info be incorporated? If so, how/who? Might be a whole added section under uses: the foundry bit doesn't 'fit' elsewhere, BUT seems smallish. Possibly work it into the existing paras on 'sea coal', however that is explicitly, and properly, 'early', while 'sea coal' for foundry use is in use/commerce today. Might have a 'stub' para titled 'other uses'? Not sure about the technical grade of 'early' sea coal, if the pits referenced still yield 'bituminous'.

I'm willing to edit article, but also willing to not stir things up. Suggest some reference to foundry/casting: just noticed wikipedia article at "molding sand', mentions 'coal', which might be referenced, lacks footnotes, could do with expansion....<grins>)Oddjob1947 (talk) 08:43, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

New section "Industrial processes" added, with acknowledgement to you, incorporating foundry sand. Furnace lining to follow. There may be enough material for a spinoff article soon. --Old Moonraker (talk) 09:54, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

Coal tipple

A coal tipple is a structure used to load coal into railroad hopper cars, or sometimes barges or trucks, but there is no article on it. I did not find much from a Google search, but I hope some other editor will follow up on this. The tipple article is a disambiguation page. --DThomsen8 (talk) 14:42, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Election issues

In certain parts of the world, pro-coal or anti-coal statements can get a person elected to a government office. I have a POV on this issue: Many of these people could not pass freshman chemistry! So, as an encyclopedia, how do we describe the political aspects of coal without bias? Bridgettttttte_babble^poop 03:05, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Steam Coal

This is a vague and ambiguous term and should not be used as a type of coal. It should be replaced with two types - Semi-Anthracite and Semi-Bituminous as noted in "Steam Power Plant Engineering" other sourcesS. The US DOE defines Steam Coal as any grade (including anthracite, bituminous and lignite) that is used for commercial power generation. In Britain Steam Coal is another name for Bitumonous (according to Encyclopedia Britanica) I can find no resource that defines it as a grade of coal between Anthracite and Bituminous. Ebtrr1 (talk) 21:47, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

While revising the article you have changed the world coal reserves table. Pl fix it and do not make any changes in the table with out citing references --adeelyusuf (talk) 13:25, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

Who are your addressing? I have made no edits to this article ever, I am just suggesting a revision and soliciting feedback. If you are not addressing the term "Steam Coal" then create a new section on the talk page that fits your subject Ebtrr1 (talk) 21:16, 7 March 2011 (UTC)