Australia is the world's largest coal exporter - supplying coal to more than 35 countries.

Australia has about 6% of the world's economically recoverable black coal, and ranks sixth behind USA (31%), Russia (21%), China (13%), India (8%) and South Africa (7%).

Coal production accounts for around 73% of the total value of mineral production in NSW.

The coalfields of the Sydney-Gunnedah Basin contain almost all of the coal resources in NSW, with smaller quantities in the Gloucester and Oaklands Basins.

There are about 120 operating black coal mines in Australia with the bulk of mines in New South Wales (60) and Queensland (52).

About half the New South Wales mines are open-cut, the other half underground.

In open-cut mining, rock covering the coal seam (the overburden) is blasted and removed by large draglines and/or electric or hydraulic shovels and trucks.

Underground coal mining in Australia is done by either the bord and pillar or longwall method. In bord and pillar mining, coal is extracted in a series of parallel tunnels (bords) cut at right angles by another series (cut-throughs). This leaves blocks of coal known as pillars which may be extracted in a second stage of mining. Longwall mining results in large blocks of coal being totally extracted and the mine roof allowed to collapse behind the working face.