—By way of summary, it may be said that the United States leads the world in coal resources; moreover, its resources are most immediately available, because of their shallow depth and general undisturbed (geologic) condition and their accessibility through railway systems. This is particularly true in the Appalachian region, which contains by far the best coal, is the nearest to the coast, and hence is the most available for ocean trade. On the other hand, the average haul to export points, as already noted, is far greater than that of Great Britain and greater than that of Westphalia; but to offset this the coal has been and can be mined more cheaply than in either Westphalia or Great Britain. The resources of Upper Silesia are large, and the coal is easily mined, but the output will all be needed for central Europe. As regards both quality and quantity, Pennsylvania anthracite is unique; nevertheless, the home needs will continue to be a brake on extensive exports. United States steam and coking coals available for shipment average a little poorer than the corresponding coals of Great Britain, but are superior to the German coals.
The total resources of Great Britain, possible, actual, and probable, are only 190,000 million tons, as contrasted with 423,000 million tons in the old German Empire and 3,838,000 million tons in the United States.
Probable Future Production.
—The possible depletion of coal resources is of course important in considering the future, but it can be safely stated that in none of the principal fields now being mined are the resources so depleted that the output therefrom will be reduced for another generation at least.
Of the great coal-producing countries, Great Britain, with its increasing rate of production, most nearly approaches the point of ultimate depletion, but that point has been variously placed at one hundred to several hundred years in the future, much depending upon whether with better methods of use the output will continue to increase at the same rate as in the past. Meantime, certain areas in Great Britain with shallower coal beds will be depleted much sooner and the remaining coal will become more and more difficult to get, because of the increasing depth of mining, which in turn will cause a continually increasing cost.
Although the exhaustion of coal is a distant prospect, there are clear signs of the approaching exhaustion of certain grades of coal. It has been estimated that the output of American anthracite will seriously decline in 60 to 100 years. Probably this will result in a change in practice, the use of coke, and other methods of house heating. If the rate of production continues to increase, high-grade American steam coal, New River and similar grades, will probably be exhausted in a little over 150 years. American coking coal of the best Connellsville quality is of equally short duration. British coal of similar high grade may last longer than American, as the production rate is less rapid, even though the total American coal should last much longer than the British.
POLITICAL CONTROL
In several countries state ownership of coal mines is established; as, for example, in parts of Prussia, Australia, Chile and Bulgaria. In others the undeveloped coal lands are still largely owned by the government, as in Alaska and the western United States. In some countries the government retains control of all mineral rights, simply leasing the property and granting a mining concession. Many governments have a department or administration of mines. In every country, of course, in an emergency, the sovereign state would exercise control of coal resources as fully as was necessary. Where the state owns mines, and favors organization, as in Germany, the more drastic regulation of war time is easily effected. It is quite possible that coal may in time be generally considered a public utility.
In England a movement toward nationalization of mines, with miners as well as the government having a hand in the control, seems to be making progress.
England’s colonies excel all others in extent of coal resources. There is coal in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia, Newfoundland, South Nigeria and British North Borneo—the total being many times greater than that in the British Isles. The colonies and possessions of France, Denmark, Portugal, United States and Japan have relatively small amounts of coal.