How Many Years Will Anthracite Be Available?

Elfmaze · Post by **Elfmaze** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 10:27 am

I was reading that they figure PA has about a 7 billion short ton reserve of anthracite. But with them ramping up production rates and selling to foreign interests in 100,000 ton orders do we run the risk of running these fields dry? They say since we started mining 140 year or so ago we have already pulled 20 billion tons.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 10:34 am

EM, life in general is a risk. BUT, I'm inclined to run with burning coal & not project on what a bunch of the "BRAINIACS" are flopping their gums about. By the way, what's your thoughts on global warming being solely a man made situation?

Elfmaze · Post by **Elfmaze** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 10:39 am

i'm more thinking should I invest 4-5k into a fuel that is going to tap out in five years...

kinda sucks looking how small the anthracite fields are in the grand scheme of things

blrman07 · Post by **blrman07** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 11:07 am

No need to worry about wasting your money about investing in coal burning equipment during your lifetime. The minimum estimate is that there is enough easily recoverable Anthracite coal in Pa. to cover us for the next couple of hundred years. That gets us to the hard to get stuff that is still in the ground. And that is ant coal only. It doesn't count all the bit coal that will be left after the doom and gloom people get through shutting down the power plants.

I really don't think you need to be concerned about a bad investment unless you want to replace your boiler or furnace with a new oil burner? Now that would be a bad investment because all your going to do is pay more money every year to prop up middle east regimes that hate us.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 11:14 am

We won't run out of anthracite before there is some gov't moratorium of mining it or some EPA regulation restricting the burning of it.

But I only plan on living to about 120 so I don't think I will see either of those two things.

LDPosse · Post by **LDPosse** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 11:31 am

Unless there is a resurgence in anthracite mining to, say, the levels seen in 1917, when 100 million tons were mined in 1 year, there is nothing for us to worry about. At the current rates of production, people could still be burning anthracite 500 years from now.

Elfmaze · Post by **Elfmaze** » Thu. Sep. 25, 2014 11:47 am

awesome thanks guys!

stovepipemike · Post by **stovepipemike** » Sun. Sep. 28, 2014 8:30 am

Keep shoveling and don't look up, it will be there. Mike

gaw · Post by **gaw** » Sun. Sep. 28, 2014 9:50 am

Three years, seven months, twenty-three days, nine hours and forty-seven minutes is the most precise figure I can come up with but there is no evidence to suggest if this figure is accurate or not.