"We don't see this as a renaissance of coal, " says Milton Catelin, head of the World Coal Association.

CNN: Shale gas boom sparks EU coal revival

Doug Ritchie, who led the acquisition of the Mozambique coal assets as head of Rio Tinto's energy division, has also resigned.

BBC: Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese resigns over $14bn write-down

Surber left the family behind in Saltville, Virginia, so he could head out to West Virginia's coal mines.

CNN: Great Depression holds lessons for surviving tough economy

The combative head of the nation's sixth-biggest coal company has benefited greatly by facing down the union.

FORBES: Not King Coal

"The reason why it is cheap is that gas power requires lower investments than coal and nuclear power plants, " the head of Statoil's gas division, Rune Bjornson, told BBC News.

BBC: Coal-to-gas power shift 'to cut energy costs'

Stover, who was head of security at the Upper Big Branch Mine (operated by Performance Coal and owned by Massey Energy), was convicted of impeding the investigation of the mine explosion that killed 29 people on April 5, 2010.

FORBES: Massey Energy Employee Guilty of Obstruction, But Where Was Management?

Jack Lavin, head of Illinois's economic development agency, liked to say his state has more energy in its coal reserves than Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have in their oil.

ECONOMIST: Trouble for America's leading clean-coal project