Coal has been mined in various areas of Tasmania from the earliest days of European settlement, with major deposits of black coal being discovered in the Fingal Valley in 1863. The completion of the railway line to St Marys in 1886 enabled the establishment of large scale coal mining in the Fingal Valley and this area has provided the majority of Tasmania's coal since this time.
Competition from oil caused a decline in the coal mining industry until more efficient mining and transport methods introduced in the mid-1960s allowed steaming coal to become competitive. The major consumers of Tasmanian coal are currently the Cement Australia plant at Railton and the Norske Skog newsprint mill at Boyer.
The Cornwall Coal Company is the major supplier of coal mined in Tasmania. The company currently mines black coal from underground and open cut mines near St Marys, from where the product is transported to a washery at Duncan Siding near Fingal, from the Duncan Colliery at Fingal, and from Kimbolton in southeast Tasmania. Most of the washed coal is transported by rail to the major consumers in bottom dump hopper wagons.
Production of raw coal in 2007/2008 totalled 725 490 tonnes, with 436 544 tonnes of saleable coal being produced.
