Is there still coal mining in West Virginia?
Coal-mining in West Virginia totaled 13,988 jobs in 2019, with 10,647 jobs located in underground mines and 3,3341 jobs dedicated to surface mines. Based on underground coal mine production, West Virginia is one of the top states in the country.
What happened to the coal industry in West Virginia?
Coal in decline In 2019, the last year for which data is available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal employment in West Virginia was down to roughly 14,000. Throughout this decline, poverty spiked, placing West Virginia consistently among the poorest states in the country.
How many active mines are in West Virginia?
West Virginia has 28 prospect mines. 40 mines were in production at the time the data was entered into USGS records.
Which two WV counties have no coal?
Coal was first discovered in what is now West Virginia in 1742 by John Peter Salley in what is now Boone County. Coal occurs in 53 of West Virginia’s 55 Counties only Jefferson and Hardy in the eastern panhandle have no coal.
How many people in West Virginia work in coal?
The West Virginia Coal Industry provides about 30,000 direct jobs in WV, including miners, mine contractors, coal preparation plant employees and mine supply companies.
Are there diamonds in WV?
Diamonds don’t exist naturally in West Virginia, yet one of the largest ever found was discovered accidentally in a horseshoe pit in Monroe County in 1928. Geologists are still at a loss to explain how it got here, though speculation has never died down.
Is coal a major natural resource in West Virginia?
Coal is one of the state’s primary natural resources , first discovered in the state in 1742. The industry employs 30,000 West Virginians directly, resulting in $2 billion in wages and a $3.5 billion economic impact. West Virginia coal exports declined 40% in 2013, representing a decrease of $2.9 billion in export sales.
What minerals are in WV?
The most commonly listed primary commodities in West Virginia mines are Iron, Manganese, and Aluminum. At the time these mines were surveyed, 94 mines in West Virginia were observed to have ore mineralization in an outcrop, shallow pit, or isolated drill hole—known as an occurance mine.
What region in Virginia is important for coal mining?
The coal fields and the oil/gas fields in Virginia are concentrated in the southwestern part of the state, and the Virginia Department of Mines, Mineral and Energy used to maintain multiple offices in the region.
What gemstones are in West Virginia?
The West Virginia state gemstone is also part of the Greenbrier River watershed: The Lithostrotionella, a fossilized form of coral that is found in the Hillsdale Limestone group in Pocahontas and Greenbrier counties. Not an official gemstone, it is a siliceous chalcedony. It is found almost exclusively within Greenbrier and Pocahontas counties.
