AN ASSESSMENT OF COAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR DEVELOPMENT

CENTRAL APPALACHIAN REGION
by
M. Devereux Carter and Nancy K. Gardner

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 89-362

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Current Federal estimates of the Nation's coal resources, for example Averitt (1975), do not account for many factors that could inhibit the availability of coal for development, and, consequently, may be mistakenly optimistic for longterm policy planning purposes. A cooperative program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the State geological agencies of Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia was initiated in 1987 and continued in 1988 to identify the major current constraints to coal mining that could inhibit avail ability of the coal resources within the Central Appalachian Region and to estimate the amount of coal resources actually available for development in that region. A methodology was developed and tested in four 7.5-minute quadrangle areas to determine if the identified constraints to mining in the region would materially affect the availability of coal for development. The results from these four study areas suggest that constraints to mining would have significant impact because it is estimated that only about 60 percent of the original coal resources of these study areas will be available or accessible for mining, and that is before recovery factors are applied. The amount of coal that may actually be recoverable may only be about 30 to 40 percent of the original resources.

The four 7.5-minute quadrangle areas covered by this report were selected to be representative of their general localities so that the results obtained from these four might be extrapolated to other areas in the surrounding region. A pilot study to test the feasibility and proposed methodologies was completed early in 1988. The first three quadrangle studies to be formally funded under the cooperative program were completed in September, 1988. Findings of all four study areas are summarized herein.

Restrictions to mining were identified by consultation with local coal-industry engineers, geologists, and mine operators, as well as State and Federal regulatory personnel. Land-use restrictions applicable to the four study areas were power lines, pipelines, cemeteries, oil and gas wells, towns, major streams, public roads, railroads, and one large forest preserve. Technologic restrictions included coal beds considered too thin or too deep to mine, buffer zones around active or abandoned mines, named and minable coal beds too close above or below one another, oil and gas wells penetrating underground-minable coal beds, and such geological factors as washouts (erosional events that removed coal precursors and sometimes coal) and organic constituents that prevent complete and rapid burning of the coal. Graphic and resource calculation programs of the USGS National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS) were applied to combine an manipulate all coal bed thickness and depth-of-burial data with the constraints to mining, and then to calculate original, remaining, and available coal resource tonnages.

Although there is a wide variation among the individual resource categories, the overall results are remarkably consistent for the four study areas. Approximately 61 percent (ranging from 58 to 64 percent) of the original resource is estimated to be available for mining. Coal mined and lost-in-mining accounts for 11 percent of the reduction of the original resource, while land-use restrictions comprise 3 percent, and technologic restrictions 25 percent. Of all restrictions, landuse totals about 11 percent and technologic about 89 percent. Together, these restrictions reduce the remaining resource by about one-third. Approximately one billion tons of coal are estimated to be rendered unavailable for mining by land-use and technologic restrictions within the four areas of study.

Non-compliance to new-source performance sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission standards is not considered a restriction to mining; however, it can be a factor in the marketability of a coal, making A less attractive than a nearby competitive compliance coal Chemical data are sparse in the four areas studied However, statistical analyses of those beds with available sulfur data indicate that approximately one-half of the available coal resources in these areas could be expected to meet current new-source performance standards of 1.2 pounds S02 per million Btu input.

Economic considerations (e.g., mining costs, available transportation, and proximity to markets) and the application of recovery factors were beyond the scope of this study. If applied, these factors would certainly further reduce the amount of coal currently estimated to be available. In any case, it seems evident that less than one-half of the coal resources remaining in these study areas will ever be mined.

As expected, results of the first four studies are inconclusive in terms of delineating regional trends. Studies in about 20 strategically placed 7.5-minute quadrangle areas may be necessary to adequately represent the entire Central Appalachian Region. A total of nine 7.5-minute quadrangle area studies will have -been completed by September, 1989; the four summarized in this report and five more in preparation. It is estimated that about 15 studies will be needed before extrapolation of results into the Surrounding region could begin, but this will be monitored on a continuing basis.

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