Forms of Coal
Two forms of coal are mined in Australia, depending on the region: high-quality bituminous coal (black coal) and lower-quality lignite (brown coal).
Bituminous coal is mined in Queensland and New South Wales, and is used for both domestic power generation and for export overseas. It is mined underground or open-cut before being transported by rail to power stations, or export shipping terminals. Bituminous coal was also once exported to other Australian states for power generation and industrial boilers.
Lignite is mined in Victoria and South Australia, and is of lower quality due a higher ash and water content. As a result Victoria adopted German power station and briquette technology in the 1920s to utilise the lignite reserves of the Latrobe Valley. Today there are three open cut lignite coal mines in Victoria used for baseload power generation.
Read more about this topic: Coal In Australia
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