Coal mining boomed during the British Industrial Revolution as it provided fuel for steam engines of all kinds in factories, transport, and agriculture. Draining flooded mines to extract more coal was the reason the steam engine was invented. As lighting used coal gas, and coke was needed to make iron and steel, so the demand for coal kept on growing.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2201/coal-mining-in-the-british-industrial-revolution/.