North Antelope Rochelle (USA)

Holding the number one spot on our list of the top coal mines in the world is the North Antelope Rochelle mine in Wyoming, U.S. The mine produced 107.7 million tons of thermal coal in 2012 and is believed to produce the cleanest coal in the world.

Owned and operated by Peabody Energy, the surface mining operation began producing coal in 1983. The coal is mined from three pits and is hauled by truck to one of four hoppers at the mining complex, where coal is crushed, conveyed to silos, and then to the loadouts. The mine shipped 110.9 million tons of compliance coal during 2013, and more than 1.8 billion tons since the mine began. The North Antelope Rochelle mine is estimated to contain more than 2.3 billion tons of recoverable coal.