Review of Lignite Resources of Western Tennessee and the Jackson Purchase Area, Western Kentucky By Paul C. Hackley1, Peter D. Warwick1, Roger E. Thomas2, and Douglas J. Nichols3 Open-File Report 2006-1078 This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only, and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. 1U.S. Geological Survey, MS 956 National Center, Reston VA 20192 2Deceased, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston VA 20192 3U.S. Geological Survey, MS 939 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey P. Patrick Leahy, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia 2006 For product and ordering information: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment: World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS Suggested citation: Hackley, P.C., Warwick, P.D., Thomas, R.E., and Nichols, D.J., 2006, Review of lignite resources of western Tennessee and the Jackson Purchase Area, western Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1078, 34 p., http://www.pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1078. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted material contained within this report. ii Contents Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................1 Jackson Purchase Area, Western Kentucky ................................................................................................................1 Kentucky Lignite Deposits: Stratigraphic Occurrence................................................................................................2 Kentucky Lignite Mineability ............................................................................................................................................4 Original Resources.............................................................................................................................................................4 Western Tennessee...........................................................................................................................................................4 Tennessee Lignite Deposits: Stratigraphic Occurrence.............................................................................................5 Coal Quality..........................................................................................................................................................................7 Organic Petrography..........................................................................................................................................................9 Coalbed Methane ...............................................................................................................................................................9 Conclusions .........................................................................................................................................................................9 Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................................................................9 References...........................................................................................................................................................................9 Figures Figure 1. Map showing Coastal Plain deposits of the Mississippi Embayment..............................................................13 Figure 2. Generalized map of the Jackson Purchase area, western Kentucky................................................................14 Figure 3. Generalized stratigraphic column of the Jackson Purchase area, western Kentucky .....................................15 Figure 4. Map of the Jackson Purchase area, western Kentucky, showing outcrop distribution...................................16 Figure 5. Lignite bed in highwall of Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Company Sims open-pit clay mine...............................17 Figure 6. Lignite isopach map of part of the Sims mine, Kentucky-Tennessee Clay Company ......................................18 Figure 7. Map of western Tennessee showing outcrop distribution ...............................................................................19 Figure 8. Upper Cretaceous to Holocene stratigraphic column for western Tennessee.................................................20 Figure 9. Lignite bed in highwall of Spinks Clay Company Swaim open-pit clay mine ..................................................21 Figure 10. Gross calorific values of western Kentucky and Tennessee lignites .............................................................22 Figure 11. Ash yield of western Kentucky and Tennessee lignites .................................................................................23 Figure 12. Sulfur content of western Kentucky and Tennessee lignites .........................................................................24 Figure 13. HAPs (As-Hg) concentrations in western Kentucky and Tennessee lignite samples.....................................25 Figure 14. HAPs (Mn-U) concentrations in western Kentucky and Tennessee lignite samples .....................................26 Figure 15. Photomicrographs of western Kentucky and Tennessee lignite samples ......................................................27 Figure 16. Blue light photomicrographs of western Kentucky and Tennessee lignite samples .....................................28 Tables Table 1. Proximate and ultimate analytical data (as-received basis) for western Kentucky and Tennessee lignites ...29 Table 2. Proximate and ultimate analytical data (dry basis) for western Kentucky and Tennessee lignite samples ....30 Table 3. Major element analytical data for western Kentucky and Tennessee lignites.................................................31 Table 4. Trace element analytical data for western Kentucky and Tennessee lignites..................................................32 Appendix: Palynologic Data ..........................................................................................................................................33 iii Review of Lignite Resources of Western Tennessee and the Jackson Purchase Area, Western Kentucky By Paul C. Hackley, Peter D. Warwick, Roger E. Thomas, and Douglas J. Nichols Introduction south (Fig. 2). Lignite-bearing counties of the Jackson Purchase area include Ballard, Carlisle, This review of the lignite deposits of western Calloway, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall and Tennessee and the Jackson Purchase area in McCracken Counties and the area covers about six western Kentucky (Fig. 1) is a preliminary report on percent (2,356 mi2) of the State. In general, the part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Coal physiography consists of relatively flat-lying Resource Assessment of the Gulf Coastal Plain ground, with numerous lakes, ponds, sloughs, and Coal Province. Lignite deposits of western swamps. Local relief generally is less than 100 Kentucky and Tennessee are an extension of the feet, and the lowest spot in Kentucky, at 260 feet Gulf Coastal Plain Coal Province (Cushing and above sea level, is found in the Jackson Purchase others, 1964), and currently are not economic to area (Kentucky Geological Survey, 2000). Much of mine. These deposits have not been extensively the bedrock in western Kentucky was extensively investigated or developed as an energy resource. eroded and covered by alluvial deposits from the This review includes a description of the geology major rivers within the northern Mississippi of the lignite-bearing units, a discussion of the Embayment during the Late Tertiary. Alluvial available coal quality data, and information on deposits predominantly consist of sand, silt, clay, organic petrology. Palynological data for lignite and gravel materials. Bedrock remnants include samples collected in Kentucky and Tennessee as Upper Paleozoic limestone exposed in the eastern part of this work are presented in an Appendix. part of the area and Upper Cretaceous and Lower Jackson Purchase Area, Western Kentucky Tertiary clastic rocks exposed throughout the Purchase area. The Jackson Purchase area in western Kentucky includes the northernmost part of the The Jackson Purchase area is an important Mississippi Embayment of the Gulf Coastal Plain, a resource of several industrial minerals including trough of Cretaceous through Quaternary silica sand, ceramic clay, and ball clay (Anderson, sedimentary strata that plunge gently southward 2000). Clay is a particularly important constituent along an axis that generally follows the of the bedrock stratigraphy of the Purchase area Mississippi River (Fig. 1) (Cushing and others, and historically has been mined extensively 1964). The sedimentary strata of the Jackson (Gildersleeve, 1945; Olive and