US miners seek help from Trump

This week, miners renewed their call for the Trump administration to bolster the industry as coal exports continue to fall.

Amid fears over spending cuts in the federal budget, coal companies, energy groups and labor unions sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to support the level of funding in the upcoming budget for the Department of the Energy Research Administration, which is partially responsible for promoting cost-effective technologies.

“We greatly appreciate your commitment to revitalizing the coal industry,” the group wrote in their letter. "Success will require targeted and reliable federal investment in energy technology and strong public-private partnerships." The letter notes: "We want to emphasize that every dollar spent on mineral exploration, including coal, is an investment in America's future."

Several large coal players, including Patriot Coal and Peabody Energy, have filed for bankruptcy in recent years amid a sharp decline in demand and tightening rules imposed on the industry by the Obama administration.

In 2016, US coal exports fell for the fourth consecutive year, down 29% to 60.3 million tonnes. Exports are half the size of a record 125.6 million tonnes in 2012, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Imports also fell last year, the first decline since 2013. An estimated 90% of the coal supplied to the United States is used to generate electricity.