Coal is a non-living resource and a non-renewable resource; it can be defined as a resource that is consumed at a faster rate than it can be replaced. Coal is formed by the compression of plant matter over millions of years. Coal is used to power electricity and a range of everyday products that will be discussed throughout the report and is mined underground or in an open pit mine. Questions had to be asked to determine how long the resource will last.• How much of the resource is left? ?• How quickly is the resource consumed? Different resources are used in different amounts and at different rates. • Is the resource renewable or non-renewable? Time required for natural replacement. • Would it be costly to recover the resource? Reclamation can mean its extraction from raw materials and the fact that a resource is recovered or recycled can deepen its market value. MiningCoal is mined using giant machines to extract the coal from the ground. Only black coal is extracted underground, because it is more valuable, the other coals are extracted in the open air. The process typically involves creating a geological map of the area, then carrying out geochemical and geophysical surveys, followed by exploration drilling. This helps develop an accurate image of the area. The area will only become a mine if it is large enough and of sufficient quality that the coal can be recovered economically. The youngest coal is not even coal, but it is called peat. It is extracted from the earth, dried and burned to obtain heat. The energy content of peat is quite low. Young coal is called lignite and is soft and brown, not much different from dried peat. Lignite has a low energy content. The carbon content is also low; Lignite is generally...... middle of paper ......ts for the day we run out of coal, but that should be in the near future.BibliographyImages: www.yancoal.com.au www. Industryleadersmagazine.com www.greenleft.org.au cafnec.org.au http://www.google.com.au/imgres?q=coal+coke&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&sa=N&biw=784&bih=443&tbm=isch&tbnid=dDFlpc4Op6p5MM :&imgrefurl=http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/fr/presse/bilder.html%26photo_id%3D979&docid=BqzfDDwMvGxYwM&imgurl=http://media.thyssenkrupp.com/images/press/thyssenkrupp_p_979.jpg&w=2126&h=2126&ei=flZKUYLBJMftkgXRoID Ycg and zoom = 1 & iact = hc & vpx = 356 & vpy = 2 & hard = 374 & hovh = 225 & hovw = 225 & tx = 151 & ty = 57 & page = 3 & tbnh = 147 & tbnw = 162 & start = 20 & ndsp = 12 & VED = 1T: 429, R: 22, S: 154 :Science in practical manual 2 http://www.coaleducatio.org/q&a/what_are_the_chemical.htm http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-coal-used-for.html http://www. australiancoal.com.au/bma.com.au