Coal Research and Development to Support National Energy Policy (2007) / Chapter Skim
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3 Coal Resource, Reserve, and Quality Assessments
3 Coal Resource, Reserve, and Quality Assessments
Pages 43-56
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From page 43... ...
The coal production and utilization industries -- as well as the transportation industry, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, engineering and environmental consultants, federal and state policy makers, financial institutions, and electric transmission grid planners and operators -- all require accurate coal reserve estimates for planning. The location, quantity, and quality of coal reserves are critical inputs for determining where end-user industries should be located and for understanding the infrastructure (e.g., trains, barges, haul roads, silos, preparation facilities, power plants, pipelines, electrical transmission lines)
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From page 44... ...
Coal mining companies report at least 19 billion tons of Recoverable Reserves at Active Mines (EIA, 2006a) , and the coal industry reports about 60 billion tons of reserves held by private companies (NMA, 2006a)
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From page 45... ...
However, coal resource estimates are also important because they are the basis for reserve estimates, and in areas where the data required for defining reserves are missing or inadequate, they provide an indication of the amount of coal in the ground. The coal resource and reserve classification system currently in use in the United States (figure 3.1)
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From page 46... ...
SOuRCES OF COAL RESOuRCE AND RESERvE INFORMATION The two primary federal agencies that provide resource and reserve information are the Energy Information Administration in the Department of Energy, and the U.S. Geological Survey in the Department of the Interior.
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From page 47... ...
Estimated Reserves Recoverable Reserves Demonstrated Reserve Base Resources Identified Resources Total Resources FIguRE 3.2 Triangle depicting U.S. coal resources and reserves, in billion short tons, as of January 1, 1997.
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From page 48... ...
, as well as technological issues that impede mining such as thin coal seams, mine barriers, seams that are too closely spaced for all to be mined using existing methods, and faulted areas. Thus far, 108 coal availability studies have been completed,2 and these suggest that less than 50 percent of identified coal resources are available for mining.
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From page 49... ...
Other Sources of Coal Resource and Reserve Information Although most coal-producing states have geological surveys that collect data on their coal resources, in most cases these organizations lack the personnel and funding for major coal resource and reserve investigations. Most coal resource investigations have been undertaken in cooperation with the USGS, Bureau of Land Management, or the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
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From page 50... ...
The Keystone Coal Industry Manual is a private publication for the coal industry that has been published annually since 1918. It contains descriptions of the coal resources and geology of coal fields for each coal-producing state, describing coal bed geology, stratigraphy, thickness, quality, rank, mining methods, and identified resources (measured, indicated, and inferred)
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From page 51... ...
. Coal beds are currently being 5 presentation to the committee by R
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From page 52... ...
The EIA, USGS, and state geological surveys typically do not have access to the large amount of private industry exploration and development data that include extensive drilling and active mining information. Although mining company data are occasionally made available for government coal resources studies, federal and state agencies are in general limited to publicly available coal bed related information such as outcrops, road cuts, oil and gas wells, water wells, and maps of abandoned mines.
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From page 53... ...
Improving the ability to forecast coal quality will assist with mitigating the economic, technological, environmental, and health impacts that may result from the lower quality of the coal that is anticipated to be mined in the future. INTERNATIONAL COAL RESOuRCE ASSESSMENTS The World Energy Council (WEC)
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From page 54... ...
In part, this is due to strategic concerns about revealing information on domestic energy resources, absence of government recognition of the importance of such information, the lack of trained personnel or funding to carry out such studies, and differences in methodology and terminology. FINDINgS AND RECOMMENDATION -- COAL RESOuRCE, RESERvE, AND QuALITy ASSESSMENTS federal policy makers require sound coal reserve data to formulate coherent national energy policies.
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From page 55... ...
Because there are no statistical measures to reflect the uncertainty of the nation's estimated recoverable reserves, future policy will continue to be developed in the absence of accurate estimates until more detailed reserve analyses -- which take into account the full suite of geographical, geological, economic, legal, and environmental characteristics -- are completed. • The Demonstrated Reserve Base (DRB)
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From page 56... ...
CoAL RESEARCh ANd dEvELoPmENt also has the experience of working with states to develop modern protocols and standards for geological mapping at a national scale through its coordinating role in the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping program. The USGS should be funded to work with states, the coal industry, and other federal agencies to quantify and characterize the nation's coal reserves.
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