The Best Ways To Farm Coal In Fallout 76

While it’s not the most valuable resource in Fallout 76, coal is one of those materials players will need occasionally. Since coal is no longer required to craft fuel, it has lost a lot of its value. However, it is still required to craft a few items in the game.

Collecting lots of coal can be a tedious job, but with the right knowledge, that task can be made a lot easier. From taking over certain workshops to heading down the mines, there are a few things that players can do to maximize the amount of coal they come across.

Updated February 16, 2025, by Benjamin Joe: The original article contained a lot of the core information about gathering coal. However, there were a couple of things that didn’t get a mention that deserve a space in this piece. The first is CAMP collectors. There are CAMP resource collectors for pretty much everything in the game, including coal. Also, the original piece didn’t go into detail regarding the many uses of coal. This update adds the two aforementioned sections to further help players understand the role of coal in Fallout 76.

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What Coal Is Used For

Not As Useful As It Used To Be

Coal used to be a core component that was needed for crafting gunpowder, which is needed to make most of the basic ammo types in the game. This meant that coal used to be quite a popular resource. However, a few changes have minimized the amount of fuel that players need to get. Players can now craft gunpowder without using any coal.

While coal is no longer required for ammo production, it is still needed to craft a handful of items. These items include a serum, water filters, a handful of Power Armor mods, and a few other items. Since these items don’t need crafting often, the value of coal has dropped considerably.

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The Best CAMP Locations For Farming Coal

Passively Generate Coal

There are lots of ore deposits dotted around Appalachia. Some of them produce steel, others are good for making aluminum, but there are a few that are ideal for generating coal. If the player places their CAMP over a coal vein, then they will be able to build an extractor. These can be found in the resource section of the build menu. There are quite a few coal veins that players can place their CAMP over:

• Just south of Carleton Mine
• South of the Palace of the Winding Path, at the base of the mountains
• Just northwest of Monogah Power Plant
• North of Autumn Acre Cabin
• Directly east of Haven Church
• Next to the train track near Charleston Landfill
• South of Relay Tower HG-B7-09
• South of Belching Betty
• Just east of Abandoned Mine Shaft 6
• South of Rollins Labor Camp
• At the bottom of Mount Blair Trainyard
• South of Abandoned Mine Shaft 1
• Just east of Hornwright Estate
• Directly north of Mountainside Bed & Breakfast
• Just south of Investigator’s Cabin
• Just east of Kerwood Mine

When a mineral extractor has been built and powered, it will produce around 25 coal per hour. While it’s not the fastest way of getting coal, using an extractor in combination with the other methods on this list gives players a nice boost.

5

CAMP Collectors That Produce Coal

Let The Coal Come To You

There are lots of CAMP collectors that players can unlock and purchase. Each one can be programmed to collect certain items. Some of the most popular ones are those that collect things like Holiday Gifts during the festive period and ones that collect commonly used resources such as adhesive and lead.

There are also a couple of CAMP collectors that scoop up the occasional lump of coal. While the amount that these machines pick up isn’t a lot, it can be just enough for the player’s crafting needs. The CAMP collectors that can pick up coal are:

• BOS Collectron Station
• Santatron Collectron Station
• Scavenger Collectron Station

4

Where To Mine Unrefined Coal

Head Down The Mines

There are mines located all over the map in Fallout 76. Most mines are located in the Ash Heap region. However, the one that is primarily used for mining unrefined coal is located in the Forest region.

Gauley Mine is located north of Slocum’s Joe. The player will need to visit Gauley Mine during one of the main questlines. There are two location markers for this place. One for the entrance and another for the exit.

Once inside the mine, there are coal veins dotted all around the mine. They can be pretty tricky to spot, but they stick out from the wall, floor, and ceiling of the mine.

Unrefined coal can also be found scattered throughout The Burning Mine. The Burning Mine is located northwest of Nuka-World On Tour. The reason why this place isn’t as popular as Gauley Mine is mainly due to the enemies that spawn there.

The Burning Mine is home to lots of Mole Miners. While this isn’t an issue for high-level players, newer players may struggle to make their way through this mine. Also, visibility isn’t very good in this mine, making it harder to see where the coal veins are located.

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A Top Tip For Mining Coal

Equipped Excavator Power Armor

Excavator Power Armor can be unlocked via the quest Miner Miracles. While it isn’t the best Power Armor set in Fallout 76, it is a unique set that gives players two special bonuses when all pieces are equipped:

• +100 Carry Weight
• Players mine double the amount of ore

Being able to mine double the amount of ore makes gathering large quantities of unrefined coal much easier. When mining, players should always use their Excavator Power Armor set.

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Turning Unrefined Coal Into Coal

It’s Time To Smelt

Once a player has collected all the unrefined coal they require, it will then need to be smelted into coal. Ore can be smelted at a Chemistry Station. It costs 5 acid and 5 unrefined ore to produce 2 coal. While this is expensive, there is something that players can do to maximize the amount of coal they make.

The perk Super Duper gives players a chance to produce double the amount of coal crafted. It’s not only coal that this perk works with. It can be used to double most craftable items in the game. Super Duper has 3 ranks. Each rank gives the player a higher chance of crafting double the amount of coal.

• Rank 1: 10% Chance
• Rank 2: 20% Chance
• Rank 3: 3% Chance

When crafting coal, players should always use the Super Duper perk. The only downside to this perk is that it can’t be unlocked until level 50.

1

Coal Inside Holiday Gifts

A Seasonal Treat

This method of farming coal can only be done during the seasonal event, Holiday Scorched. This is an annual event that takes place over the Christmas period.

During the event, Appalachia will be overrun by Holiday Scorched. These are Scorched dressed in festive outfits. When killed, they will drop a Holiday Gift. They come in three sizes: small, medium, and large.

Players will want small gifts in order to get extra coal. Once opened, most small gifts will give the player 1 coal. While it’s not much, it’s better than nothing.