 anthracite (greek á¼Î½Î¸ÏÎ±ÎºÎ¯ÏÎ·Ï (anthrakÃ­tes), "coal-like," from á¼Î½Î¸ÏÎ±Î¾ (Ã¡nthrax), coal)"anthracite," the oxford english dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. oed online. oxford university press. retrieved 2010-06-26.  is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. it has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest calorific content of all types of coal, which also include bituminous coal and lignite. anthracite is the most metamorphosed type of coal (but still represents low-grade metamorphism), in which the carbon content is between 92.1% and 98%. the term is applied to those varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapours when heated below their point of ignition. anthracite ignites with difficulty and burns with a short, blue, and smokeless flame. anthracite is categorized into standard grade, which is used mainly in power generation, and high grade (hg) and ultra high grade (uhg), the principal uses of which are in the metallurgy sector. anthracite accounts for about 1% of global coal reserves,world coal association - the coal resource and is mined in only a few countries around the world. china accounts for the majority of global production; other producers are russia, ukraine, north korea, vietnam, the uk, australia and the us. total production in 2010 was 670 million tons.u.s. energy information administration 2010 international energy statistics  == terminology == other terms which refer to anthracite are black coal, hard coal, stone coal (not to be confused with the german steinkohle or dutch steenkool
Coal Coal_mining Metamorphic_rocks Organic_minerals