An Introduction to Coal: Understanding Economic and Production Trends in Wyoming and Colorado Thomas Foulke | University of Wyoming In this webinar we will… A brief look at what coal is and where it comes from. A little history of coal usage and how it lead to production in Wyoming and Colorado. Investigate the sources of use and growth for the fuel in our two states Learn how our economies benefited or were hurt over time in changes in demand, and the sources of those changes. See how modern coal production impacts the economies of both states. Learn about the importance of coal on the national level Peek at a possible future of coal and coal mining in our region and beyond. What is coal? Coal is made from organic matter that has accumulated in marshy areas. As dead material accumulates in a low oxygen environment to form peat. Then heat, pressure and time do their work. The process of “coalification” progressively reduces the material to carbon with various degrees of impurities such as oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. The process can take tens to hundreds of millions of years, depending on the amount of overburden accumulated. Image source: http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/coalform.htm Types of coal There are four major grades of coal Lignite Sub-bituminous Bituminous Anthracite The type of coal used depends on what you are going to use it for and what type you have the cheapest access to. Anthracite has the highest BTU value and is the rarest. It’s mainly used in the steel industry. It’s also called “metallurgical” Peat coal or “met-coal”. The other types of coal are used for heat and in this country, primarily for electricity production. Lignite is also called “brown coal” because if it’s low BTU value it is also the “dirtiest”. Some lignite is still burned in the U.S. The lowest rank of combustible organic derivative is peat, which is not-quite-coal. And then there is, of course, dung which is not coal at all, but does burn well and is and has been used for fuel for millennia. Image source: USGS Where is the coal? U.S. Coal Regions Lignite or “brown coal” Sub-bituminous Bituminous Anthracite Image Source: USGS A little history: the rock that burns Man has used coal for a long time. Coal residue has been found in bronze age fire pits. Romans used coal in Britain for heating and metal working. Coal residue has also been found in the remains of roman funeral pyres. The Chinese have probably been using coal for just as long, if not longer. The bottom line is that man has used ‘the rock that burns’ since time immemorial…longer than anyone knows. 16th century Chinese wood cut of coal mining Image source: Wikipedia Historical uses of coal Coal’s chief uses seem to have always been heating and metal- working. Coal burns hotter than wood or charcoal so it’s use for metal working has always been prized. Iron, because of its high melting point, particularly favors coal for production. This lead to the discovery of steel. Steel is a low carbon derivative of iron. Small quantities of steel would have been produced with early iron production methods. Steel is stronger and more malleable (workable, not as brittle) than iron. This made it highly valued for blades and armor. Thus coal became a strategic commodity. 16th century European coal mine. De Re Metallica, by Gregorius Agricola, 1556 Watt’s steam engine Not much changed in the use of coal for millennia. The Japanese and Chinese appear to have had a better grasp on steel production than Europeans, witness the samurai sword. But Europeans, especially northern Europeans who developed mercantile economies appear to have been more innovative. The Newcomen steam engine was invented in 1712. It was mainly used to drive pumps to de-water tin mines in Cornwall. In 1755 James Watt was granted a patent for a steam engines and by 1765 he had developed a steam engine that could harness rotary power and used a separate condenser. The Newcomen engine could just provide ‘up and down’ motion. Watt’s improvement was the key driver to the industrial revolution. Rotary power enabled power looms and eventually locomotives James Watt’s steam engine, first patented in 1755. and steam ships. This is the rotary version that came out in 1782. Source: Spartacus educational Image source: http://spartacus-educational.com/TEXrotary.htm Coal, steel, and the industrial revolution Because steel was so hard to produce, it was very expensive and basically a specialty commodity. Coal production was low because not a lot of it was needed and wood served well for most heating needs. Things started to change though after the invention of the steam engine in the 18th century. Most early steam engines were wood-fired, but demand for fuel started stretching resources. More and more coal started to be burned for fuel and for heating (there was probably always some of this, just as there has always been peat Power loom weaving in Britain, 1835. burned for heat). Image Source: Wikipedia Even so, industrialization brought more demands for fuel and Note: The industrial revolution started using water power to weave cloth. But as the looms got bigger, it was coal filled that role…think of coal-choked London in Charles harder to power them with water. Furthermore, water Dickens’ novels (1850’s). might be more seasonally dependent. Coal did not have these problems. The Bessemer process As the industrial revolution progressed into the 19th century, demands for more and more energy (fuel) created increasing need for coal. One of the limitations of the time was the that iron was brittle and hard to work. The answer was steel, but how to make it in quantity? Henry Bessemer patented a process in 1856 that allowed steel to be made in large quantities. Essentially, the Bessemer process blew air Bessemer converter. into the molten iron which removed the impurities. Bessemer’s innovation was driven by the need for more (and better) artillery during the Crimean War (1854-56). Large scale steel production soon followed. Image source: Wikipedia Railroads and the West So how does all this connect to coal and Wyoming and Colorado? In the 1850’s railroads were expanding in the eastern half of the country. Many people felt that is was the country’s “Manifest Destiny” to expand coast to coast. There were a number of surveys to find the best route for the transcontinental railroad. The route that was finally chosen, was chosen in part due to coal deposits in Wyoming. The Front Range in Colorado was a barrier to these early trains that could only negotiate a 5 percent or less grade. They still burned wood, but that became problematic on the plains. The “Governor Stanford” on the Central Pacific Railroad technology advanced during the civil war and newer trains line. were now converting to coal, i.e. they had more steel parts and could Image Source: Wikipedia handle the higher pressures of the higher temperature burning coal. For a good read, see: Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, by Steven E. Ambrose. The industrial and transport revolution Steam, steel, railroads…all these things came together at the right time for the development of the American West, particularly Colorado and Wyoming…And they all rely on coal. The earliest coal mines in Colorado were located between Denver and Boulder. The coal was likely used for heat and to power the stamp mills (gold refining). In the early years, Colorado had a lot of hard- rock mining, much of which was steam- powered. Small local mines provided coal for the mines and the railroads. Wyoming had very little hard-rock mining, but the Union Pacific and the transcontinental railroad was a driving force in the economic Working a coal face, Britain, 1942. development of the state. Image Source: Wikipedia Economic trends In our Economic Trends in Wyoming’s Mineral Sector: Coal, my colleagues and I divide the production history of coal mining in Wyoming into three eras: The Railroad Era: 1865-1954 The Transition Era: 1955-1968 The Energy Era: 1969-present The same can be said for Colorado as well, but we might want to add the words “and mining and steel production” to the railroad era. Each of these eras contributed differently to economic development in the region and for different reasons. Let’s look at them in a little more detail… Available from: http://www.wyoextension.org/publications/Search_Details.php?pubid=1850 The Rail Era. 1865-1954 Coal production during this period was primarily for transportation use in Wyoming, plus mining steel production in Colorado. In Wyoming, the sector was dominated by one company, the Union Pacific. In Colorado, the sector came to be dominated by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. But in both states, to put it mildly, employee relations were strained. Colorado’s signature labor relations struggle was the “Coal Field War” 1913-14. Where miners, represented by the UMWA, at the C.F. & I battled the company “Death Special” armored car used during Colorado’s and the state militia. The state nominally won, but at “coal field war”, 1913-14. the cost of 66 miners and their families lives. The ‘war’ bankrupted state coffers and galvanized the nation at the time. It’s effect was to help change labor laws. Image source: Denver Public Library Source: The Coal Field War Project: https://www.du.edu/ludlow/cfhist.html In Wyoming, it was the Rock Springs “Chinese Massacre” of 1885.