 Korean anthracite coal mining had significantly contributed to Korea's economic growth. It is the only domestic energy resource. The coal mining was first developed in Pyongyang at about 1896. It played an important role in two oil crises which occurred in 1973 and in 1978. It helped to overcome crucial moments in Korea's economics, by helping to save Korea's current account by using home resource.
As there was an increasing demand of coal, the government kept the policy of raising coal products and promoting the coal mining industry by making 'The Three Coal Rules': 1) "The Temporary Rules by Coal Development (Dec 31, 1961)" which pursued integrated developments of coal fields in the course of 'the first Five Year Economic Development Plan'; 2) "The Temporary Rules on the Promotion of Coal Mining (Aug 4, 1969)" which was made to protect and promote the Korean unique energy resource more actively; 3) "The Temporary Rules on the Coal Supply and Demand (Mar 29, 1975)" which was made to control the quality of coal supplied. But, the significant decrease in the demand for anthracite is owed to the trend in the use of clean and convenient energy. This preference is caused by the increase in income and the spreading of global environment protection activities. The coal mining industry also has lost its competitiveness with other resources. This is caused by the increasing costs procured by the deeping and the narrowing of the coal mines.
The government has been trying to move against these circumstances to integrate and systemize the rules concerning the coal mining industry. This is the reason for implementing "Coal Mining Industry Rule(Act-3807, Jan 8, 1986)". Thus, since 1989 the government has been conducting the policy of reconstructing the coal mining industry. In addition, the government has been focusing on a counterplan to revitalize the coal industry by refurnishing the mining facilities with new and efficient methods.
 The total reserves of anthracite are about 1.4 billion tons. 0.35 billion tons of which can be considered productive. The bituminous coal, which is used in the industrial sectors, has not been identified.
The most important elements when considering coal deposits are their quality, width, inclination and depths of the deposits. Most of the reserves are between 4,000~6,000 Kcal/Kg and the average coal thickness is 1.8 m. Coal seams are sharp dip (20~30 ° ) and the deepening rates of mines are 15.6~17.1 m per year. The beds of coal reserves are formed 500 m above and 1,500 m below the adit level. As the mines are exploited, the deepening of the mines are accelerated due to the characteristics of the coal mines mentioned above. The results of the deepening of the mines are an increase in the temperature and pressure, and an increase in the amount of mine water. The continual deepening of the mines also increase the transportation distance and the ventilation distance, which in turn cause a decrease in the efficiency of the mine and thus ultimately increasing production and investment costs. |
Coal
