Coal, bitumen and natural gas are organic products which can be used as combustible minerals due to their high content in carbon. According to their formation and the type of carbon compounds, these raw material groups are divided into coal, on the one side, and bitumen, on the other side. The majority of natural gases, especially those which are technically useful, have been formed in parallel with bitumen. Natural gases associated with forms of carbon also exist.

Coal

• Coal: Based on increasing carbon content, the following materials are differentiated: peat, brown coal (lignite), bituminous coal and anthracite. Characteristics and age are also used to further divide the coal into carboniferous formations, coal from Mesozoic and Lower Tertiary strata, coal from molassic strata and Quaternary coal. The extraction of Swiss coal began in the Middle Ages and, after a period of controlled extraction between the 18th and 19th centuries, continued, especially during the period of the world wars.
• Coal schists indicate coal formations in young interglacial deposits (moraines, fluvioglacial gravels and sands). The extension of the coal seams is generally limited. Because of the high water content and necessary drying and the relatively low calorific value, these coal schists are only attractive in periods of depression (extraction before 1911 was approximately 920,000 tons, between 1917 and 1921 about 138,000 tons, from 1941 to 1946 about 275,000 tons). Significant deposits are found in Uznach-Kaltbrunn, Eschenbach/Dürnten/Wetzikon, Zell/Gondiswil, Mörschwil and Grandson.
• The term Brown coal (lignite) represents the largest group of molassic coal in Switzerland which is often found in thin and spatially limited seams. The deposits of Horgen, Paudex-Oron and Mionnaz, Elgg, Rufi/Schänis, Sonnenberg/Littau, Reppischtal, Herdern and Höhronen are of economic interest. In these zones many small mines exist. Better quality brown coal and bituminous coal are found in older rock units in the Berner Oberland. The Eocene coals from Beatenberg and Kandergrund, as well as the Dogger coals in Simmental near Boltigen, are all worthy of mention.
• Anthracite is mainly limited to Carboniferous rock formations in the canton of Wallis. Important deposits are found near Bramois, Chandoline, Collonges, Dorénaz, Ferden, Grône, Isérables and Nendaz. Since the anthracite from Wallis is only useable to a limited extent (slow to light, slow combustion, high ash content) imported coal has been preferred in the post world war period.

Bitumen (Asphalt)
Various small bituminous formations are found in the Jura, the molassic foreland and rarely in the Alps. Only the asphalt mines in the Val de Travers (La Presta) are of economic interest, where from 1711 to 1986 limestone with 5 to 12% bitumen was mined and used for asphalt production. The bituminous schists of Monte San Giorgio (TI) are of historical interest as a medicinal product «Saurol» was produced until the 1950's using oil obtained through the refining of these schists.

Petroleum, Oil sands, Natural gas
Certain molassic sandstones in the vicinity of Aarau, Murgenthal, Yverdon-Orbe and in the canton of Geneva are saturated or impregnated with oil. In the regions of Cuarny, Giswil and along the coats of Lake Maggiore, significant surface emissions of natural gas have been observed from time immemorial. Increasing industrial development beginning in the 1920's led to the intense prospecting of such energetic raw materials even in Switzerland, however, with modest results. In the molassic region of the Plateau, the most positive results have been found in boreholes in Essertines and Pfaffnau. Approximately 100 tons of high quality petroleum were able to be pumped from the Essertines well and about one million cubic metres of natural gas were extracted in Pfaffnau. In the zones surrounding the Alps, the Linden borehole has shown some success. The Entlebuch (Finsterwald) borehole, in service from 1980 to the present, has been the only commercially successful natural gas deposit in Switzerland. About 75 million cubic metres of gas and smaller amounts of condensate have been extracted between 1985 and 1994.