Coal


 * For the item used in the 2008 Easter event, see Bucket of coal.



Coal is a type of ore that can be obtained through the Mining skill in various places around RuneScape. It is one of the most important mined materials in RuneScape.

Coal can be mined with a Mining level of 30 or higher, granting 50 Mining experience. After being mined, a coal rock takes an average of 42 seconds to respawn. Mining coal may have a higher chance of giving gems than other rocks.

The examine text refers to conserving fossil fuels. This might be an attempt at making others look into alternative forms of energy. Ironically, this statement does not apply in RuneScape since coal never runs out - the rocks continually respawn.

Locations
Coal rocks can be found in many mines, including:


 * The Mining Guild which contains the highest concentration of coal in a single area


 * Al-Kharid Mine - 2 rocks
 * Barbarian Village - 4 rocks
 * Crandor
 * Dwarven Mine
 * Edgeville Dungeon
 * Hobgoblin Mine
 * Lumbridge Swamp south-west mine - 7 rocks
 * Wilderness skeleton mine

Members

 * Grand Tree Mine (members only) - 12 rocks (very close to Grand Tree bank; recommended for members). The Grand Tree quest is required.
 * Heroes' Guild Mine (members only) (far from bank)
 * TzHaar mine (members only) - 8 rocks
 * Coal Trucks (members only) (recommended for members)
 * East Ardougne mine (members only) - 12 rocks
 * Jatizso Mine (members only)

Granting 50 Mining experience for each ore mined.

Obtaining coal
While the Mining Guild is a good source of coal for those with the required mining level to enter, it can still get very busy, leading some miners to take on the risky Wilderness coal mine, or the even riskier Hobgoblin mine, although this is redundant as it is located in very deep wilderness (Levels 34-36), filled with level 28 aggressive Hobgoblins and also exposed to revenants. If the player would rather face tough monsters than revenants, then Crandor Island is available after completing the Dragon Slayer quest. However, it is a long way back to a bank, though the Tzhaar Bank isn't too far for members. The Lumbridge Swamp south-west mine is the best for lower levelled players, as it isn't crowded. Another good place is the Barbarian Village. At higher levels, the mining guild is best as coal rocks take an average of 30 seconds to respawn. The coal mine in north-east Keldagrim is somewhat far from a bank, but by wisely using energy, players manage to use this mine effectively due to its general lack of players. This mine is also close to the Blast Furnace. The Dwarven Mine is popular, but those under combat 65 may want to avoid it as they may be attacked by King Scorpions. The clear advantage of the Mining Guild is its proximity to a bank.

The Coal Trucks in Kandarin may be a good solution for members without the required mining level for the Guild, since they can mine and store 120 coal (up to 196 while wearing Seers' headband 3) in the trucks at the mine, then retrieve it from the trucks by Seers' Village. This allows players four and a quarter full loads of coal in one trip, or five and a quarter full loads if they carry one load with them.

If members have completed the The Grand Tree quest, the mine under The Grand Tree can be very useful for mining coal (9 coal rocks) as it is usually empty and is very close to the bank in the second floor of the Grand Tree.

Another easy way to get coal is to go to the small mine between East Ardougne and the Legends Guild, which has 12 coal rocks and is usually abandoned. The bank in the southern part of East Ardougne is also a very short walk away.

Use in Smithing
Coal is required to smelt all smithable metals above iron, in increasing amounts.
 * Steel bar: 2 coal
 * Mithril bar: 4 coal
 * Elemental bar: 4 coal
 * Adamantite bar: 6 coal
 * Runite bar: 8 coal

Note: It is worth mentioning that the above coal to ore ratio is halved when smelting via the Blast Furnace.

Value
Coal is usually not mined for money in member worlds, since mining pure essence is faster and lies within a similar cost range with coal. The market price of coal was previously stable at around 175 coins each but is now coins and rising each day.

Making money
Coal is a great way to make money, because of its high demand at the Grand Exchange. Unfortunately, coal is always under competition from other miners, and can be guarded by monsters such as hobgoblins at the Hobgoblin Mine.
 * Miners can mine coal from a large quantity of coal rocks in the Mining Guild, which requires level 60 mining to enter.

Respawn rate
Coal, like all other mined rocks, respawns at a rate directly proportional to the number of people in the rock's RuneScape world. If the world is empty, the ore respawns in 1 minute; if it is full (with 2000 players), it respawns in 30 seconds. Thus the respawn rate of coal is
 * $$60-\frac{3x}{200}$$ seconds,

where x is the number of players in the world.

A table of respawn rates is given below.

Trivia

 * In real life coal is used in the furnace as a heat source. Coal is not a part of the refined metal. Jagex's justification for requiring coal may be that it would be used to introduce carbon into the metal, thereby making it stronger.
 * In the game mining coal gives a higher chance of receiving gems than noncoal ores. In real life it is the same, as coal beds can usually supply the needed pressure for gems to form.
 * Examining coal will yield the message, "Hmm, a non-renewable energy source!", however, in runescape, coal rocks will renew themselves every minute or so.