Coal was mined in the 1700's from the Triassic Basin west of Richmond/Petersburg, but the small size of that coal field limited its importance to the local market. Richmond and Petersburg grew economically because of manufacturing supported by James River and Appomattox River waterpower, more than coal from Midlothian. Managers of iron furnaces in the Valley and Ridge province relied upon locally-produced charcoal. It would have been too expensive to purchase coal from the Richmond-area mines, ship the coal up the James River on the canal boats, and finally haul the coal by wagon to the furnaces.
The Appalachian coal fields had national and international significance, once they were developed in the 1880's. The role of coal has been critical in shaping the growth of Southwest Virginia for over a century. The region has alternated between boom and bust economic cycles. The demand for coal surged in the 1880's, when the railroads made it possible to ship the bulky product to the commercial marketplaces. In the 1980's, the demand dropped due to Clean Air Act requirements for low-sulfur coal, and the supply of low-cost coal from Virginia has dropped with the exhaustion of the easy-to-mine coalbeds.
Today, the Southwest Virginia economy is far closer to "bust" than to "boom." Some mines are still operating, however, and Virginia is still a net energy producer in terms of coal. According to the state estimates, "Virginia's produces nearly four times the amount of coal it consumes."
Because the coal fields in Virginia are concentrated in the southwestern part of the state, the Virginia Department of Mines, Mineral and Energy - Division of Mines Enforcement Section has offices at Keen Mountain (in Buchanan County) and Big Stone Gap (in Wise County), as well as Abingdon, Charlottesville, and Richmond.
The coal in Virginia was created when swamps created organic material faster than it could decay, prior to the orogenies that created the Appalachian Mountains. The coal beds were compressed by overlying sediments that washed off the new Appalachian Mountains, and in soime cases the coal beds were pushed west as the mountains were formed.
The Pine Mountain thrust sheet near Kentucky was uplifted and folded in the Appalachian orogeny. In the process, the southwestern edge of the block moved 13 miles and shifted counterclockwise as the Middleboro syncline was created. The pressure from the southeast squeezed the surface, causing it to fold and shortening it in response to the strain.
