Coal Resources of the Upper Part of the Monongahela Formation and the Dunkard Group in Ohio
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·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·~·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·~ I• I I • • I STATE CE OHIO I MICHAl'l. V. DI SALLE, Cover..,. • DEPARTMENT CE NATIIRAL RESOURCES I HERBERT B. EAGON, Director DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY • RALPH J. BERNHAGEN, Chief I • I• I • REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS NO. 38 I. I • I COAL RESOURCES OF THE UPPER PART OF THE MONONGAHELA FORMATION AND THE DUNKARD GROUP IN OHIO BY I George H. Denton COLUMBUS 1960 ~--·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·- STATE OF OHIO Michael V. DiSalle Governor DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Herbert B. Eagon Director NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION C, D. Blubaugh Joseph E. Hurst Herbert B. Eagon L. L. Rummell Byron Frederick Demas L. Sears Forrest G. Hall Myron T. Sturgeon William Hoyne DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Ralph J. Bernhagen Chief ·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-~-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·~ I • I • STATE OF OHIO MICHAEL V. DI SALLE, Governor I DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES • HERBERT II. EAGON, Director I DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY • RALPH J. BERNHAGEN, Chief I 1 REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONS NO. 38 0 HJ 0 c- -, · - ,-- - - ~ ~~ - • ~ ..r ~ .. 1- L ...... __ ,, ~- /' {/., '1 ~ z COAL RESOURCES OF THE UPPER PART OF THE MONONGAHELA FORMATION AND THE DUNKARD GROUP IN OHIO BY George H. Denton COLUMBUS 1960 ~--·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·-·~·-·-·-·-·-·-· - PREFACE This report is the eighth of a series by the Division of Geological Survey dealing with coal resources of Ohio. A bulletin summarizing all eight reports is soon to be published. The purpose of this investigation is to summarize the known information concerning the coal reserve of the upper Monongahela formation and Dunkard group in Ohio. The geologic data upon which this report is based have been accumulated in open file or in pub - lished reports of the Division of Geological Survey over a period of more than 70 years. Al- though the recognition and correlation of many of the minor coal beds, especially those of the Dunkard group, is still a controversial geologic problem, no attempt is made to resolve the problem in this report. This report is intended specifically for use by the coal producer, miner, prospector, and owner of coal-bearing land. Previous reports of the Division of Geological Survey in the series concerned with the estimated original reserve of Ohio coal are listed below: Brant, R. A., 1954, The Lower Kittanning No. 5 coal bed in Ohio: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 21. Brant, R. A., 1956, Coal resources of the upper part of the Allegheny formation in Ohio: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 29. DeBrosse, T. A., 1957, Coal beds of the Conemaugh formation in Ohio: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 34. DeLong, R. M., 1955, The Pittsburgh No. 8 and Redstone No. Ba coal beds in Ohio: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 26. De Long, R. M., 1957, Coal resources of the lower part of the Allegheny formation in Ohio: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 31. Granchi, J. A., 1958, Coal resources of the Pottsville formation: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 36. Smith, W. H., and others, 1952, The Meigs Creek No. 9 coal bed in Ohio, part I, Geology and reserves: Ohio Division of Geological Survey Report of Investigations 17. ii - . CONTENTS Preface--------------------------------------------------------------------- ii Abstract-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 CHAPTER 1 - GEOLOGIC DESCRIPTION OF THE UPPER MONONGAHELA FOR- MATION AND THE DUNKARD GROUP-------------------------- 2 CHAPTER 2 - PRINCIPAL COAL BEDS---------------------------------------- 5 Fishpot coal---------------------------------------------------------- 5 Uniontown (No. 10) coal-- - ------ --------- --- --- ------ --- --- ----- ------- 5 Waynesburg (No. 11) coal- --- --------- ----- ---- ------- ---- ---- --------- 9 Waynesburg "A" (No. lla) coal------ ------ ----- ----- --- -- -- ------------ 9 Washington (No. 12) coal---- ---------- ---- --- --- ----- ----- -------- ----- 12 CHAPTER 3 - AREAL DESCRIPTION------------------------------------------ 15 Gallia County--------------------------------------------------------- 15 Meigs County--------------------------------------------------------- 15 Athens County-------------------------------------------------------- 16 Washington County---------------------------------------------------- 18 Morgan County-------------------------------------------------------- 21 Noble County--------------------------------------------------------- 21 Monroe County-------------------------------------------------------- 23 Belmont County------------------------------------------------------- 29 Harrison County------------------------------------------------------- 31 Jefferson County------------------------------------------------------ 33 CHAPTER 4 - SUMMARY OF THE COAL RESERVE----------------------------- 35 Method used to estimate the reserve------------------------------------ 39 Limitations of the investigation------ ---- ---- ----- ------------ -- -- ------ 41 CHAPTER 5 - MINING HISTORY·--------------------------------------------- 42 CHAPTER 6 - CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COAL-------------------- 45 Selected Bibliography-------------------------------------------------------- 49 TABLES 1. Original reserve of Uniontown (No. 10) coal in Washington County------------- 20 2. Original reserve of Washington (No. 12) coal in Washington County----------- 20 3. Original reserve of Waynesburg "A" (No. lla) coal in Morgan County--------- 21 4. Original reserve of Fishpot coal in Noble County---------------------------- 22 5. Original reserve of Uniontown (No. 10) coal in Noble County------------------ 22 6. Original reserve of Waynesburg (No. 11) coal in Noble County---------------- 23 7. Original reserve of Fishpot coal in Monroe County--------------------------- 23 8. Original reserve of Uniontown (No. 10) coal in Monroe County----------------- 24 9. Original reserve of Waynesburg (No. 11) coal in Monroe County-------------- 24 10. Original reserve of Waynesburg "A" (No. lla) coal in Monroe County--------- 27 11. Original reserve of Washington (No. 12) coal in Monroe County--------------- 27 12. Original reserve of Uniontown (No. 10) coal in Harrison County--------------- 31 13. Original reserve of Waynesburg (No. 11) coal in Jefferson County------------- 33 iii 14. Summary of original reserve of upper Monongahela-Dunkard coal beds in Ohio- 36 15. Distribution of abandoned coal mines in upper Monongahela-Dunkard strata in Ohio------------------------------------------------------------------- 43 16. Selected chemical analyses of coal from upper Monongahela-Dunkard strata in Ohio-------------------------------------------------------------------- 46 FIGURES 1. Generalized distribution of rocks of upper Pennsylvanian-Permian age in Ohio-- 3 2. Generalized geologic rock column of upper Monongahela and Dunkard strata in Ohio------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 3. Average intervals between coal beds of upper Monongahela and Permian strata in Ohio---------------------------------------------------------------- 7 4. Areal extent of Fishpot coal more than 14 inches thick in Ohio---------------- 8 5. Areal extent of Uniontown (No. 10) coal more than 14 inches thick in Ohio------ 10 6. Areal extent of minable Waynesburg (No. 11) coal in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania----------------------------------------------------------- 11 7. Areal extent of Waynesburg "A" (No. lla) coal more than 14 inches thick in Ohio 13 8. Areal extent of Washington (No. 12) coal more than 14 inches thick in Ohio----- 14 9. Graphic sections of minable Uniontown (No. 10) coal in Washington County----- 19 10. Graphic sections of minable Uniontown (No. 10) coal in Monroe County--------- 25 11. Graphic sections of minable Waynesburg "A" (No. lla) coal in Monroe County-- 26 12. Graphic sections of minable Washington (No. 12) coal in Monroe County-------- 28 13. Graphic sections of Waynesburg (No. 11) coal in northern Belmont County------ 30 14. Graphic sections of Waynesburg (No. 11) coal in Harrison County-------------- 32 15. Illustration of the dot-count method used in estimating area of coal reserve---- 40 iv I ABSTRACT An estimated 3, 902, 396, 000 short tons of original coal reserve of the upper Monon- gahela and Dunkard strata is distributed principally in Belmont, Monroe, and Washington Counties. The Monongahela coal beds contain an estimated original reserve of 2, 511, 668, 000 short tons, distributed as follows: Fishpot coal------------------ 440, 746, 000 tons Uniontown (No. 10) coal-------1, 380, 168, 000 tons Waynesburg (No. 11) coal ----- 690, 754, 000 tons The Dunkard coal beds contain an estimated 1, 390, 728, 000 short tons, which is distributed as follows: Waynesburg "A" (No. lla) coal-- 490, 686, 000 tons Washington (No. 12) coal------- 900, 042, 000 tons Most chemical analyses of these coal beds reveal a high ash and sulfur content and a correspondingly low Btu content. Most of these coal beds are easily accessible and have been mined on a small scale for local use. Because of the general thinness and low heating value of the coal, increased utilization of these beds will probably await the development of highly efficient preparation plants or coal-burning equipment that can utilize low-grade coal. As the better quality and thicker coal beds are depleted, the upper Monongahela-Dunkard coals will play an increasingly