SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australias powerful coal mining industry on Sunday warned it was being unfairly singled out under the countrys new carbon emissions trading scheme, predicting it will lead to job losses and fewer collieries at a time when buyers are paying top dollar for coal. Xstrata , one of the countrys biggest coal mining companies, said it was disappointed at the governments lack of genuine consultation before unveiling its plan to slap a carbon tax of A$23 a tonne on its 500 worst polluters. Australia, the worlds biggest coking coal exporter, relies on coal to generate 80 percent of its electricity, accounting for 37 percent of national emissions. Coal is also one of the nations top export earners, worth A$46 billion in overseas sales last year. Around 40,000 people work in Australian coal mines and a further 100,000 indirectly, according to sector estimates. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced coal miners, steel and aluminium manufacturers and other heavy emitters of carbon gas polluters would pay a A$23 ($24.70) a tonne carbon tax rising annually to A$25.40, before shifting to market-based emissions regime in mid-2015. Australia is the rich worlds worst per capita greenhouse gas emitter due to a heavy reliance on coal-fired power stations for electricity.