PURPOSE: To prevent coal from being accumulated in stages and to efficiently dry coal, by providing each contrarotation plate with a contrarotation lever, and providing a guide plate under each stage at a position at which the guide plate is contacted with the contrarotation lever in a horizontal state.

CONSTITUTION: A high-temperature (200W250°C) drying gas is blown into a casing 1. Coal to be dried is introduced from the upper part of the casing 1 into the most upper stage 3. Each stage is rotated by a rotating shaft 2. Wetted coal on each stage 3 is contacted with said drying gas and dried. Then, when each contrarotation plate 4 is moved toward a guide plate 7 and a contrarotation lever 5 is contacted with the guide plate 7, the contrarotation lever 5 is run onto the guide plate 7 and the contrarotation plate 4 turns on the shaft 6. As a result, the contrarotation plate 4 turns over nearly vertically, and coal placed thereon falls onto a lower stage. In the same manner as described above, each contrarotation plate 4 is operated in turn, and coal placed on each plate 4 falls in sequence. Until coal reaches the lowest stage, coal is dried to the desired state.