Re: PRB coal still a big thing?
Author: BTDT
Date: 11-09-2023 - 17:52
A little Google searching indicates the highest-ever production occurred in 2008, at 466 million tons. In 2022 the region produced about 230 million tons. So in the last 15 years production has dropped by about 50%, but it's still a "sh*t-load" of coal.
I don't know exactly what the split is between production consumed domestically vs. exported, but I believe in recent years the trend has been towards more export and less domestic usage.
Approximately 40% of the coal produced in the US comes from about a dozen mines in the PRB, making it the most productive single coal-mining region in the US.