Anthracite. Specimens of anthracite coal,a hard,lustrous sedimentary rock derived from vegetable debris. Anthracite is a slow-burning,relatively smokeless fuel which gives out intense heat and is used in the production of coal gas,and in the iron,steel and synthetic rubber industries. It occurs in Paleozoic rocks (230-570 million years ago),in particular the Carboniferous of North America (Appalachian Mountains) and Europe,and the Permian of China,Siberia and Australia. This sample comes from south eastern British Columbia,Canada |