Kōrero: Coal and coal mining

Types of coal

Types of coal

These six examples of New Zealand coal show how the appearance of coal changes with its rank. The two examples at right are of low rank, with considerable moisture and relatively little carbon, and are dull. The bottom right example, from Waimamaku Beach in Northland, contains a fossilised broadleaf. The top right example is lignite, also from Northland. The example at bottom centre is sub-bituminous coal from Huntly. It is blacker and contains less moisture. The two examples at top centre and left are both bituminous coal from the West Coast, while the shiny, fractured coal at bottom left is anthracite from the Fox River on the West Coast. Anthracite, the highest-rank coal, has little moisture and its metallic lustre contrasts strongly with the dull, lower-ranked coal at bottom right.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Alastair McLean

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Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Alan Sherwood and Jock Phillips, 'Coal and coal mining - The nature of coal', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/7407/types-of-coal (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Alan Sherwood and Jock Phillips, i tāngia i te 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 14 Apr 2021