IMPERIAL INSTITUTE

MONOGRAPHS ON MINERAL RESOURCES
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE

BRITISH EMPIRE
TIM

PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
MINERAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE OF THE
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, WITH THE ASSISTANCE
OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL STAF^

/\ (0

COAL

BY J. H. RONALDSON, M.I.M.E., M.Inst.M.M.,

F.G.S.

WITH MAPS AND DIAGRAMS

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

1920

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE

MONOGRAPHS ON MINERAL RESOURCES

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE

BRITISH EMPIRE

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE

MONOGRAPHS ON MINERAL RESOURCES

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE

BRITISH EMPIRE

PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
MINERAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE OF THE
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, WITH THE ASSISTANCE
OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL STAFF

COAL

BY J. H. RONALDSON, M.I.M.E., M.Inst.M.M.,

F.G.S.

WITH 12 MAPS AND 2 DIAGRAMS

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.

1920

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE
MINERAL SECTION

THE Imperial Institute is a centre for the exhibition and investi-
gation of minerals with a view to their commercial development
and for the supply of information respecting the sources,
composition and value of minerals of all kinds.

The Imperial Institute is provided with research Labora-
tories for the investigation, analysis and assay of minerals, and
undertakes reports on the composition and value of minerals,
for the information of Governments and producing companies
and firms, in communication with the principal users in the
United Kingdom and elsewhere in the Empire.

Important minerals from within the Empire are exhibited
in the respective Courts of the Public Exhibition Galleries, and
also in the Mineral Reference Collections of the Institute.

A special staff is engaged in the collection, critical revision
and arrangement of all important information respecting sup-
plies of minerals especially within the Empire, new methods
of usage and other commercial developments.

Articles on these and related subjects are periodically pub-
lished in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute, and monographs
on special subjects are separately published under the direction
of the Committee on Mineral Resources.

^48391

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE
Advisory Committee on Mineral Resources

The Right Hon. VISCOUNT HARCOURT, D.C.L., Chairman.
*Admiral SIR EDMOND SLADE, K.C.I.E., K.C.V.O. (nominated

by the Admiralty), Vice-Chairman.
EDMUND G. DAVIS, Esq.
*WYNDHAM R. DUNSTAN, Esq., C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Director

of the Imperial Institute.
J. F. RONCA, Esq., M.B.E., A.R.C.S., Department of

Industries and Manufactures (nominated by the Board

of Trade).
*Professor J. W. GREGORY, F.R.S., Professor of Geology,

University of Glasgow, formerly Director of Geological

Survey, Victoria, Australia.
Sir ROBERT HADFIELD, Bart., F.R.S., Past-President, Iron and

Steel Institute.

Captain A. L. ELSWORTHY, Intelligence Department, War
Office, (nominated by the War Office).

W. W. MOYERS, Esq. (Messrs. H. A. Watson & Co.), Liverpool,
R. ALLEN, Esq., M.A., B.Sc., Imperial Institute, Secretary.

* Members of Editorial Sub-Committee.

MINERAL SECTION

Principal Members of Staff

Superintendent
R. ALLEN, M.A. (Cantab.), B.Sc. (Lond.), M.Inst.M.M.

Assistant Superintendent

S. J. JOHNSTONE, B.Sc. (Lond.), A.I.C.

Senior Assistants

G. M. DAVIES, M.Sc. (Lond.), F.G.S. W. O. R. WYNN, A.I.C

Assistants

S. BANN. A. T. FAIRCLOTH.

F. H. BELL. R. C. GROVES, M.Sc. (Birm.).

H. BENNETT, B.Sc. (Lond.). E. HALSE, A.R.S.M., M.Inst.M.M

. PREFACE

THE Mineral Resources Committee of the Imperial Institute
has arranged for the issue of this series of Monographs on
Mineral Resources in amplification and extension of those
which have appeared in the Bulletin of the Imperial Institute
during the past fifteen years.

The Monographs are prepared either by members of
the Scientific and Technical Staff of the Imperial Institute,
or by external contributors, to whom have been available the
statistical and other special information relating to mineral
resources collected and arranged at the Imperial Institute.

The object of these Monographs is to give a general account
of the occurrences and commercial utilisation of the more
important minerals, particularly in the British Empire. No
attempt has been made to give details of mining or metal-
lurgical processes.

HARCOURT,
Chairman, Mineral Resources Committee.

IMPERIAL INSTITUTE,

LONDON, S.W.y,

Sept.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I

PACK

COAL: HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF

THE COAL INDUSTRY I

CHAPTER II
BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

United Kingdom :

England and Wales '. u

Scotland ........ 29

Ireland ........ 35

Asia :

British North Borneo ...... 39

Federated Malay States ..... 40

India 41

Africa :

Nyasaland -, . 66

Rhodesia . 67

Union of South Africa . " . . . .68
Southern Nigeria. ...... 79

North America :

Canada ........ 80

Newfoundland ....... 104

Australasia :

Australia 105

New Zealand ....... 1/14

ADDENDA : Kenia ; Tanganyika Territory ; Somali-
land ; Trinidad ; Jamaica ; Windward Islands ;
British Guiana 158

APPENDIX 159

REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL . . .160

NOTE : Numerals in square brackets in the text refer to
the Bibliography at the end.

COAL

CHAPTER I

COAL : HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF
THE COAL INDUSTRY

HISTORICAL

IT may be regarded as remarkable that the use of coal has only
become general within the last few centuries, though the
existence and the combustible character of coal must have
been known in very early times. It is believed that it was
used as a fuel by the Chinese long before the Christian era, and
evidence of its use by the Romans, during their occupation of
Britain, exists in the coal and ashes found among the ruins of
many of their stations near the coal-fields [4/p. 5].

W. Warington Smyth states that " the first worked coal-
field in Germany seems to have been Zwickau, in Saxony, dating
from about the tenth century " [8 /p. 3]. Certain ecclesiastical
records indicate that coal was being won prior to A.D. 1113
in the coalfield of Worm, which lies partly in the districts of
Julich, Aschen and Limburg [i] [3] [7]. There is no clear
evidence that elsewhere coal was mined to any extent till toward
the end of the twelfth or the beginning of the thirteenth century.
About this time Cistercian monks are said to have mined coal
from the outcrops of seams in the high ground of a suburb of
Liege, and R. L. Galloway [4] says, " Its discovery in Bel-
gium, according to the legend as quoted by Schook in his

2 HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL

7radatu$ de Turffis (Grorngae, 1658, p. 223), was made in 1189
by a pilgrim, who pointed it out to a smith." About the same
time, according to Galloway [5], the monks of Holyrood Abbey
received a grant of the tithe of the colliery of Carriden, near
Blackness, west of Edinburgh, and the monks of Newbattle
Abbey, near Dalkeith, received a grant of a colliery on the sea-
shore at Preston, east of Edinburgh.

Galloway further says that in England, soon after the granting
of the Magna Charta (A.D. 1215), there is " evidence of a com-
mencement having been made to work coal and to carry it from
the north of London," that " before the close of the reign of
Edward I (A.D. 1307) the mineral was being dug, though doubt-
less only on a small scale, in most of the coal-fields of England,
Wales and Scotland," and that at first it was " only used by
humble artisans, such as smiths and limeburners." But at
this time its use in London met with such opposition on account
of the smoke that an enactment was passed forbidding its use
under severe pains and penalties. However, in spite of this, and
doubtless on account of the growing scarcity of wood, its use
increased and was extended to domestic purposes.

Gradually the demand for coal also arose in France, and,
by the end of the sixteenth century, the export of coal to that
country appears to have attained relative importance, 1 so
much so, indeed, that the fear of exhausting the supply raised
the question of prohibiting its export from England. No
definite action, however, was taken, but in Scotland " an Act
of Parliament was passed in 1563 prohibiting all persons from
transporting coals out of the realm under penalty of confisca-
tion of the ship and cargo."

The introduction about this time of the process of making
cast iron, for which purpose wood charcoal was used, followed
by a great demand for large cast-iron cannon, hastened the
exhaustion of wood fuel in England and fostered the use of
coal. It is, however, to the invention and perfecting of the
modern steam engine, the conversion of coal into coke, and
improvements in the metallurgy of iron, at a later date, that is
chiefly due the phenomenal increase in the consumption of coal

1 France continues to be the chief importer of British coal, and in 1913
took i2f million tons [6].

HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL 3

during the last century, an increase evidenced by the following
figures [8/p. 9].

It is estimated that about the year 1800 in Great Britain
about 10,000,000 tons of coal were raised in a year ; that in
1850 the production was 42,000,000 tons, that France was
raising 4,433,000 tons, Prussia and Belgium smaller quantities,
and Austria a little above 1,000,000 tons. A comparison of
these figures with those on page 5, and the diagrams on
pages 8 and 9, give a striking illustration of the rapid growth
of coal-mining to its present enormous proportions, of the
progressive character of the industry, and of the world-wide
competition.

CLASSIFICATION OF COALS

The classification of coals adopted in The Coal Resources of
the World, 1913, is as under :
Anthracite. Class A x .

Fuel ratio, 1 12 or over.

Calorific value, 14,500 to 15,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 93 to 95 per cent.

Volatile combustible matter, 3 to 5 per cent.
Semi-anthracite. Class A 2 .

Fuel ratio, 7 to 12.

Calorific value, 15,000 to 15,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 90 to 93 per cent.

Volatile, 7 to 12 per cent.
Anthracitic and High-carbon Bituminous. Class BI.

Fuel ratio, 4 to 7.
^Calorific value, 15,200 to 16,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 80 to 90 per cent.

Volatile, 12 to 15 per cent.

Does not readily coke.
Bituminous. Class B 2 .

Fuel ratio, 1-2 to 7.

Calorific value, 14,000 to 16,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 75 to 90 per cent.

Volatile, 12 to 26 per cent.

Generally cokes.

1 The fuel ratio is obtained by dividing the percentage of fixed carbon by
the percentage of volatile matter.

4 HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL

Low-carbon Bituminous. Class B 3 .

Moisture content occasionally reaches 6 per cent.
Volatile matter, up to 35 per cent.

Fixed carbon -f $ volatile _

Hygroscopic moisture + volatile ~

Calorific value, 12,000 to 14,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 70 to 80 per cent.

Makes porous, tender coke.
Cannel. Class C.

Yields 30 to 40 per cent, volatile matter on distillation.

Calorific value, 12,000 to 16,000 B.T.U.

Very porous coke.
Lignitic or Sub-bituminous. Class D x .

Generally contains over 6 per cent, of moisture.

Moisture, freshly mined, up to 20 per cent.

Fixed carbon -f~ volatile ~

Hygroscopic moisture -|- volatile ~

Calorific value, 10,000 to 13,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 60 to 75 per cent.
Lignite. Class D 2 .

Moisture in commercial output, over 20 per cent.

Calorific value, 7,000 to 11,000 B.T.U.

Carbon, 45 to 65 per cent.
See also Appendix, p. 159.

PRODUCTION, CONSUMPTION, EXPORTS, IMPORTS AND

RESERVES OF COAL

In order to realize the magnitude and resources of the coal
industry, it will be useful, before referring in detail to the
coal-fields of the British Empire, to include tables giving :
The Annual Coal Production in Principal Countries [p. 5],
The Consumption, Export and Import of Coal in Principal

Countries [p. 6].
An Estimate of the Coal Reserves of the British Empire

and of other Countries [p. 7].

An Estimate of the Coal Reserves of the World, in Con-
tinents, with special reference to those of the British
Empire [p. 10],

The Diagram (pp. 8-9) show graphically the growth of the in-
dustry in principal countries in 50 years.

HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL

TABLE I

Table of the Annual Coal Production of the Principal Countries

of the World

In million tons (metric tons of 2,204 Ib.) *

1895.

1905.

1913-*

1916.

1917.8

1918.8

1919."

British Empire i

Great Britain and

Ireland

194-35

239-89

292-12

260-562

252-56

231-36

233'49

Australia

4-01

6-83

12-62

9.972

10-07

11-13

IO-70

Canada .

7-96

13-62

12-718

12-75

13*59

I2-38

India

2-65

7-92

16-07

I7-536

18-51

21-05

22- 1 1

New Zealand .

0-76

1-41

1-92

2-294

2-IO

2-07

South Africa .

1-40

3-22

7-99

9.081

7-07

9-40

9-85

Total .

206-36

267-23

344-34

312-16

305-06*

288-60

Other Countries i

Austria-Hungary

27-25

40-72

53'68 d

46-099

Belgium
China

20-41

21-84

22-84
9-27*

18-863

14-92

13-82

18-49

France .
Germany

28-24
103-96

36-05
173-66

4 o-8 4d

21-473
158-89

28-90
167-36

24-14
160-51

22-34
210-30

Italy

0-25

0-31

o-37

1-306

1-72

2-00

Japan .

4-84

II-89

21-42

22-902

26-52

23-74

30-83

Mexico .

m-, j

2-45

mr __,

- -

Russia .

9-10

I7-I2

33-37

26-282

._ _

Spain .
Sweden .
United States
Other Countries

1-77

0-20
177-59

i-75

3-20
o-33
35I-I2

4-55

4-02
0-36
517-20
14-66

5-495
0-41

535-479
113-64

5-68
0-44
591-11
195-34

7-l6

615-43
196-60

493*75
105-31

Grand Total (approx.)

581-72

928-02

1,341-0 f

1,263-0*

i,339-o

1,332-0

1,170-0

* Figures for 1913 and 1916 are taken from official returns. Supplemented
by figures from statistics of Iron and Steel Federation.

b N.S. Wales only.

c Statistical Abstract of U.S.A.

d Including lignite.

* Chinese Year Book (estimated for 1914).
f Mineral Industry, 1918.

* Figures for British Empire are from official returns, and for others from
Mineral Industry, 1918.

h Figures are official, or from U.S.G.S. estimate to Aug. 15, 1920.

* Except where otherwise indicated, the metric ton of 2,204 Ib. is used
in this monograph.

HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL

TABLE II

Pre-War Consumption, Export and Import of Coal in Principal
Countries (1913)

In million tons (metric)

Consumptions. Exports. Imports.
British Empire :

Great Britain and Ireland 192-18 99*95

British Dominions . . 65-26 6-69 18-39

Total .... 257-44 106-64 18-39

Foreign ;

* Austria-Hungary

59-66

7.72

13-7

* Belgium . .

26-72

4-98

8-86

* France ....

58-25

1-30

18-71

* Germany ....

254-59

34-57

10-54

*Italy ....

II-OI

0-19

10-83

* Russia ....

41-00

O-IO

7-73

*Spain ....

6-71

O-OI

2-70

United States .

498-95

19-98

1-38

British Dominions (Analysis) :

Australia ....

8-81

2-13

Canada ....

30-63

1.48

17-21

*India ....

15-94

o-77

0-64

*New Zealand .

2-18

O-2I

0-48

* South Africa

7.70

2-10

0-06

65-26

6-69

18-39

(Compiled from Official Returns of each country.)
* Calculated, Production + import -export = consumption.

HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL

CO ON O N VO >O M O\
covo O t^OO tx O vO
1O vS in in CO O >

O n v> o\ao O O vo m t-s O oo tvoo O H in
M vocoto>oOMtx tNvo rj- m o> O O cooo

Q o

li'i

I en I N M" I I

1 VO ' CO ' '

1 1 1 H

M M I OS CO

M CO

N co

1 1

MOOCOM VOCO VO OMTf-

iovo MCO TJ-^-N f^ OM-^-

-^OO\co voco O^ votNOO

ir> f^

OotO
OOsO

OOO
O 1O
NCO

I1O >OOO~ O> M~ d" nTocT I COfNVO'vO^ I M* I

10 M CO M W ' 0\ VO '

-* O ONO

OO O\ O^OO

1 1 * 1 "1^ 1 1 W

Ok 1 1 f 1 K I'

M CO

tNOO OVO

U 2

o\ o
ooo o\ o *

M fNOO * I

1O ,

~ I

I -I

OUTPUTS OF COAL

x >

OF THE

500

THREE LARGEST

f
1

PRODUCING COUNTRIES

1865-1916

450

Millions of Metric Tons

400

300

260

200

^"^ /'

ISO

.^^

X 7

10 U
* t

U) O !
b 1

2 2 S 2 2

-United States

Germany
UniredKingdotn

THE MINOR

PRODUCING COUNTRIES
1865-1916

Millions of Metric Tons

"Auslro- Hungary

Russia

France
Japan

Belgium
India

-Canada

Australia
Sou rh Africa

Spain

New Zealand
Italy

Sweden

to HISTORY, GROWTH AND OUTPUT OF COAL

TABLE IV

Estimate of the Coal Reserves of the World, in Continents, with
Special Reference to those of the British Empire

In million tons (metric)

Class A.

Classes
B. and C.

Class D.

Totals.

British.

Anthracite
Coals, in-
cluding
some dry
Coals.

Bituminous
Coals.

Sub-bitumi-
nous Coals,
Brown Coals
and Lignites.

Oceania : Total .
British .
Asia: Total
British
Africa: Total
British .
America : Total .
British .
Europe : Total
British .

659
659
407.637

11,662
11,662
22,542
2,158
54.346
H.357

I33,48i
133,236
760,098
76,399
45,123

45,033
2,271,080
283,661
693,162
178,176

36,270
35,138
111,851
2,6O2
1,054
74
2,811,906
948,450
36,682

170,410
1,279,586
57,839
5,105,528
784,190

169,033
79,ooi
56,769*
1,234,269
189,533

Total .

496,846

3,902,944

2,997.763

7.397.553

British .

25,836

716,505

986,264

1,728,605

(Compiled from The Coal Resources of the World, 1913) [2].

* This figure does not include the sub-bituminous coal of the new coal-field
of Udi-Okwaga in Southern Nigeria, with an area amounting to about 1,800
sq. miles, over which known outcrops occur.

CHAPTER II
BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

UNITED KINGDOM
ENGLAND AND WALES

South Wales [No. i on Map]. This coal-field stretches east
and west from Pontypool to St. Bride's Bay. The principal
portion, fifty-six miles long, occupies part of the counties of
Monmouth, Glamorgan, Brecknock, and Carmarthen, and is
connected beneath Carmarthen Bay with the small western
portion in Pembrokeshire. The field covers 842 sq. miles, of
which 33 miles only lie in Pembrokeshire (Strahan). 1

The structure of the main field is synclinal ; the coal-bearing
measures outcrop all round the edges of the basin, except
where covered by the waters of Swansea and Carmarthen Bays
and by newer rocks for a short length at Llantrisant, and are
bounded by the outcropping older rocks. The strata dip
much more steeply on the southern than on the northern out-
crop, while at each end of the basin the dip is slight. An
anticlinal fold, roughly parallel with, and comparatively near,
the southern edge of the basin, runs east and west from Risca
through Swansea Bay, developing a trough to the north and
one to the south, and raising the lower coal to an accessible
position over a considerable area. In the west of Glamorgan
and in the south-east of Carmarthen there are certain areas
where the productive coal-measures lie at a greater depth than
4,000 ft. and are still unproved.

The Coal-Measures vary in thickness from about 4,000 ft. to
12,000 ft. and occur in the following order :

(i) Upper series, consisting largely of shales with several
bituminous coal-seams.

1 E. Hull gives a superficial area of 906 sq. miles and H. S. Jones nearly
1,000 sq. miles.

12 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

(2) Pennant series, mainly sandstone, with coal-seams only

in the west.

(3) Lower series, chiefly shales, with the greatest develop-

ment of coal and, near the northern outcrops, beds of
ironstone.

Twelve seams, aggregating 42 ft. in thickness, occur in the
east of the field, while in the south and west of Glamorgan the
number increases to upwards of 40, with about 120 ft. of coal.
In the eastern part of the Pembroke field, where the lower
series only is present, 8 seams, with 21 ft. of coal, occur ; but in
the west, where a part also of the Pennant series remains, there
are 18 seams, with 33 ft. of coal.

The coal ranges in character from bituminous house-coal,
through the famous Welsh steam-coal to anthracite of remark-
able purity. Anthracite occurs in the north-western districts
of the main field, and attains its greatest purity near Kidwelly,
while in Pembrokeshire the coal is almost wholly anthracite.

A characteristic feature of this coal is the gradation that
takes place from one class of coal to another, a gradation both
vertical and lateral. Thus, in the anthracite area, each seam,
in any one section, is in general, but not in every case, more
anthracitic than the one above, and each becomes more anthra-
citic as it approaches the northern and north-western margin
of the field. It follows from this that in the same mine the
upper seams may yield house-coal and the lower seams steam-
coal ; or, if the upper seams yield steam-coal, the lower may
yield anthracite. There is, therefore, no clear line of demarca-
tion of the anthracite field.

The cause of anthracitization, as regards the South Wales
coal-fields, has long been a matter of surmise and speculation.
The subject has of recent years been studied with great
care by Aubrey Strahan and W. Pollard [15], who have
endeavoured to prove that this anthracitic character of the
coal is due to the original composition of the vegetable matter
forming the coal, and not to extraneous influences, such as
extraordinary static or dynamic pressure or regional heat,
however caused. The comparison made of the various coals
in this investigation appears to be based on chemical analysis
alone, and the main argument relies on the remarkable freedom

ENGLAND 13

of Welsh anthracite from ash impurity. If this were the
determining factor, might it not be expected that the purer
layers of coal in any seam would approach more nearly to

ENGLAND & WALES

9 . . *P

anthracite than those containing more ash ? The analysis given
on page 73 of the Memoir cited shows, on the contrary, that
the purer layers of coal, with 2-66 per cent, of ash, in the Three-
Quarter Coal from Monmouthshire, are further removed from

14 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

anthracite than are the dull layers with 6*44 per cent, of ash.
The facts and arguments presented in this Memoir are instruc-
tive and interesting, but the conclusion arrived at is not alto-
gether satisfying.

The relative proportions of the three main classes of coal
were estimated by W. T. Lewis for the Royal Commission
on Coal Supplies (1904), thus : Bituminous, 30-42 per cent. ;
steam, 47-31 per cent ; anthracite, 22-27 P er cent.

The output in 1880 amounted to 21,165,580 long tons and
in 1913 to 56,830,072 tons. The coal reserves, as estimated by
the Royal Commission of 1904, after deducting the coal pro-
duced, were in 1913 :

Million Tons.

In seams of i ft. and over to a depth of 4,000 ft. . . 36,000

In seams of 2 ft. and over at depths between 4,000 and 6,000 ft. 1,500

Bristol and Somerset [No. 2 on Map]. This coal-field on its
eastern edge stretches for 25 miles from Wickwar in the north
to near Frome in the south, and occupies to the west of this
line an area roughly triangular in shape. An east and west
faulted anticlinal zone, which crosses the River Frome 2 miles
north of Bristol, divides the field into the small northern basin
lying chiefly in Gloucestershire, and the large southern basin
lying chiefly in Somerset. Two small outlying basins have
been proved to the north and south of the mouth of the Avon.

The general structure of the field may be considered as the
result of an east and west synclinal fold crossed by another
running N.N.E. to S.S.W. The effect of the series of folds to
which these belong, on the South Wales and Forest of Dean
coal-fields, is briefly outlined by H. S. Jevons [n/p. 77) :

Succession of Strata near Bristol. (After R. Etheridge as quoted
by Hull) [10 /p. 68].

Feet.
Trias (Keuper)

(Upper series, with 22 coal-seams, of which

9 average 2 ft. in thickness and upwards 3,000
Central or Pennant Sandstone, etc., 5 coal

seams ...... 1,725

Lower shales, 36 coal-seams . . 2,000

Millstone Grit . . Hard siliceous grits, etc. . . . 950

Carboniferous Limestone Well shown in the Avon gorge . . 2,338

ENGLAND 15

The Carboniferous Limestone attains a thickness of 3,000 ft.
on the southern edge of the field in the Mendip Hills, but in a
distance of only 30 miles to the west, in the Forest of Dean,
it dwindles to less than 400 ft.

Estimate of Coal Reserves (Hull, 1903)

Area. Visible 45

Concealed by newer formations . . . .105

150 sq. miles.

Greatest thickness of measures with coal . . . 9,000 ft.

Seams of 2 ft. and over, 20 ; aggregate thickness . 71

Total quantity coal down to 9,000 ft., in million tons . 6,036

Quantity of coal down to 4,000 ft. in million tons . 4,151

Strahan's estimate of the coal reserves below 4,000 ft., in
The Coal Resources of the World, is 4,266 million tons.

Good house, rich gas, coking, manufacturing and steam
coals are produced, and the annual output of some sixty
collieries is about 1,300,000 tons.

The anticlinal ridge of the Mendips forms the southern
boundary of the field, and it is inferred that to the south of
these hills a coal-field, concealed beneath the Lias and New
Red Marl of the Brue valley, may stretch as far south as
Cannington Park. Similarly, an extension eastward in the
vicinity of Bath has been conjectured.

Forest of Dean [No. 3 on Map]. This interesting coal-field
lies in Gloucestershire, west of the Severn, and consists of an
irregularly shaped basin, 34 sq. miles in extent, encircled by
Millstone Grit (so-called) and Carboniferous Limestone out-
cropping above the level of the enclosed Coal-Measures.

The following is the sequence of formations in descending
order :

Coal-Measures, with 15 seams .... 2,765 ft.

Unconformity
Dry brook Sandstone, so-called

Millstone Grit . . .455 ft.

Carboniferous Limestone Main /SSafto^toS? 011 *! 80 ft

Lower Limestone Shales . 165 ft.
Old Red Sandstone 8,000 ft. or more.

i6 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

T. F. Sibley [14] regards the so-called Millstone Grit
as the upper strata of the Carboniferous Limestone and terms
it Drybrook Sandstone. It is conformable with the under-
lying strata, but unconformable with the overlying Coal-
Measures.

The general dip of the basin is from the margin toward the
centre. On the east the prevailing dip of the Coal-Measures
is much less than that of the steeply-inclined older rocks ; on
the north and west the difference of inclination is slight.

The coal is found in 15 seams over i foot thick, of which
eight are 2 ft. and more in thickness and aggregate 24 ft. of coal.
The actual reserve of coal is estimated at 200 million tons, in
addition to which there is a problematical 100 million tons in
the northern part of the field.

Leicestershire [No. 4 on Map]. This coal-field lies to the south
of the Trent valley with Ashby-de-la-Zouche as its centre. The
" visible " portion occupies 30 sq. miles, and a " concealed/'
but proved extension is estimated to occupy 55 sq. miles. On
the western side of the field the strata rise and are overlaid un-
conformably by the Trias.

In the central part of the field 33 seams of i ft. and over
aggregate 94 ft. ; in the southern extension 22 seams total
91 ft.

The " actual " reserve of coal is estimated to be 2,480 million
tons.

Warwickshire [No. 5 on Map]. This coal-field is, with the
exception of the Kent field, the nearest to London. It lies in
the north of the county, and extends from near Tamworth in a
south-east direction to Wyken, a distance of 15 miles. The
visible Coal-Measures, at their north-western end, occur as a
syncline 4 miles wide, bounded on the west, north and east by
faults, which bring in the New Red Sandstone. Thence they
trend S.S.E. as a narrow strip on the west side of Atherstone
and Nuneaton, and are bounded on the east by an outcrop of
older rocks, which are partly overspread by Trias. To the
west they dip beneath and are concealed by the so-called Per-
mian and the Trias strata, but are " proved " and " partly
proved " over an area estimated by Lap worth and Sopwith to
occupy 32 sq. miles. The " visible " field has an area of 24 sq.

ENGLAND 17

miles, and contains 10 seams over i ft. thick, with an aggregate
of 40 ft. Five of these seams are workable in the north. South-
ward, the sandstones and shales intervening between the seams
and amounting to 120 ft. thin out, and the seams unite to form
a single seam 26 ft. thick at Wyken, as occurs in the " Ten-
yard " coal of South Staffordshire. Serious faults are absent.
The peculiarly persistent thin bed of SpirorUs limestone is
found in the upper coal strata.

The estimated " actual reserve " is about 1,445 million tons.

South Staffordshire [No. 6 on Map]. The coal-bearing area
of this district stretches from the Clent Hills northward to
Brereton, near Rugely, a distance of 21 miles, and has an
average width of 7! miles. The estimated area, including the
unproved portion concealed by newer strata, is 150 sq. miles.
The " visible " coal-field lies between two nearly parallel faults
trending north and south, beyond which, as well as to the north
and south, newer rocks occupy the surface.

A ridge of Upper Silurian rocks, which formed the original
margin of the basin, limits the field on the south.

Coal in the hidden portions has been opened out at Sandwell
in the east and in Cannock Chase in the north-west.

There are on an average eleven coal-seams in the north,
aggregating 67 ft. Nine of these seams, proceeding southward,
unite to form the famous " Ten-yard," or " Thick Coal " seam,
30 ft. thick near Dudley and 24 ft. at Sandwell. In the southern
district 6 seams, inclusive of the composite " Thick Coal,"
aggregate 65 ft. The coal in general is suitable for domestic,
smelting and manufacturing use, but never has the character
of true steam-coal. The great industrial development round
Birmingham, Dudley and Wolverhampton owes its growth to
the rich deposits of coal and iron in this field.

North Staffordshire [No. 7 on Map]. The coal-seams of this
basin lie within a roughly- shaped triangle, whose apex is to the
north near Congleton Edge. The area is no sq. miles, a further
1 8 sq. miles being occupied by the outlying Cheadle area to the
east. The Coal-Measures of the main field are bounded on the
east by the Millstone Grit and on the north-west by the Red
Rock Fault of Cheshire, which throws down Triassic rocks.
To the south the Coal-Measures are overlaid by and may con-

i8 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

tinue beneath the newer formations as workable extensions
(see Concealed Coal Fields, below).

The structure of the field, broadly stated, is a trough, con-
stantly widening southward, of which the western lip bends
over an anticlinal fold, and dips in a narrow strip to the Red
Rock Fault. The sequence of strata in this neighbourhood is
as follows :

Trias . . . Bunter, peeble beds.

'Keele group (so-called Permian), Red sandstone and
marls.

Carboniferous

Newcastle, or Halsowen group, Sandstone formation.
Etruria group, Red marls.
Upper Coal-Measures .
Lower Coal-Measures.

In 30 coal-seams over 2 ft. thick found in this field there is
140 ft. of coal ; other seams, ranging from i to 2 ft. thick, bring
the total thickness up to 150 ft.

The Coal-Measures of the Cheadle field are bounded on the
north by older rocks, but extend southward as a concealed field
of unknown area beneath the Trias. Strahan states that
17 seams, aggregating 65 ft., occur, but are varied and often
individually absent, one only persisting over the entire field.
The estimated " Actual Reserve " of South and North
Staffordshire, inclusive of Cheadle, to a depth of 4,000 ft., is
about 7,150 million tons, and between 4,000 and 6,000 ft.
2,955 million tons.

Shropshire and Worcestershire [No. 8 on Map]. These coun-
ties include the coal-fields of Coalbrook Dale and the more or
less unimportant coal-fields of the Forest of Wyre, the Clee
Hills, Shrewsbury, Leebotwood and Dryton.

Coalbrook Dale, situated in Shropshire between Wolver-
hampton and Shrewsbury, is a small triangular coal-field
stretching from south of Ironbridge northward to Newport,
and has an area of 18 sq. miles. The coal-bearing measures
have a general dip to the east ; they are bounded on the
north-west by a great downthrow fault, on the south-west by
Silurian rocks, and disappear to the east beneath newer rocks,
formerly classified as Permian.

From the investigations of M. W. T. Scott [13] and D. Jones
[12] it would appear that denudation occurred during the coal

ENGLAND 19

period, and that the Upper Coal-Measures, with the Spirorbis
limestones, were laid down in the hollows of the denuded surface
and, in parts, beyond the limits of the folded Lower Coal-
Measures . The unconformability thus formed is known locally
as the " Symon Fault " [9].

The field is much faulted. The Lightmoor fault, trending
N.E.-S.W., bisects the field, and to the west of this fault the
coal is practically exhausted. Six seams, aggregating 27 ft. of
coal, have been worked.

The coal-field beneath the Forest of Wyre extends from the
northern end of the Abberley Hills to the west of Bridgnorth,
and then continues northwards as a narrow belt by the banks
of the Severn to Coalbrook Dale coal-field. The area of the
field is almost equal to that of the Forest of Dean.

The Coal-Measures lie on Old Red Sandstone, and are over-
laid by the so-called Lower Permian rocks, which exhibit a
breccia resembling the debris from glaciers. 1 This bed is now
regarded as a delta fan and not glacial. Seams, correlated
with those of Coalbrook Dale, aggregate from 7 to 15 ft. of coal.

Some miles to the west of the Forest of Wyre small patches of
coal, capped by a bed of basalt, are found on the summits of the
Titterstone and Brown Clee Hills, in Leebotwood and Dryton.

Shrewsbury coal-field occupies a crescent-shaped belt, 18
miles long and seldom more than a mile wide, from a point
east of Shrewsbury to the Severn, near Alberbury. The Coal-
Measures rest directly on Cambrian and Silurian rocks, and
are overlaid by the so-called Permian rocks. The upper
Coal-Measures here, as in Coalbrook Dale, the Forest of Wyre,
Warwickshire and Lancashire, contain the persistent Spirorbis
limestone, a bed seldom more than a foot thick. The three
known coal-seams have a total thickness of 6 ft.

The estimated coal reserve of Shropshire and Worcester-
shire is 360 million tons.

North Wales [No. 9 on Map]. The visible portion of this
coal-field consists of two areas separated by the great Bala
fault, an area of 47! sq. miles on the north-west lying in Flint-

1 See Glacier Boulder Beds in South Africa, India, and Australia. The
Lower Coal-Measures of N.S. Wales occur between marine formations, both of
which contain undoubted glacial boulders.

20 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

shire, and an area of 56 miles on the south lying in Denbighshire.
Rocks older than the Coal-Measures bound the field on the
west, while Triassic rocks conceal the continuation of the Coal-
Measures to the north-east under Wirral and to the east in
Cheshire. In the concealed portions of Denbighshire the pro-
ductive measures are overlaid by the equivalents of the Etruria
marl, the Newcastle series, the Keele series of Staffordshire, and
finally by the Bunter beds.

The coal-seams of these counties have a general correlation
and only slight differences over the field. In Flintshire 12 to
14 seams have a total thickness of 58 ft. ; in the northern part
of Denbighshire, 17 seams aggregate 61 ft., which in the south
of the field dwindle down to 37 \ ft. in 16 seams of lower quality.

The principal seams in Flintshire, in descending order, are
the Four-Foot (Coal and Cannel), Hollin (Coal with Cannel),
Brassy, Main (7' o"), and Lower Four-Foot (in some places
Cannel). Those of Denbighshire are the Drowsalls, Powell,
Two-yard, Brassy, and Main. A special feature of the Flint-
shire field is the Cannel coal found at Leeswood, near Mold and
other places, and celebrated for its high gas-producing quality.

The total area of the coal-field in Flintshire, including the
small area of Neston, is 87! sq. miles, with an estimated reserve
of i, 080 million tons ; the area in Denbighshire is 91 sq. miles,
with 1,450 million tons.

Lancashire and Cheshire [No. 10 on Map]. The bulk of this
coal-field lies in the south of Lancashire within an area of
extremely irregular outline. It stretches in an east to west
direction from Staleybridge to Bickerstaffe, a distance of 32
miles. Spurs due to faulting strike out to the north and the
south from the main body, and a narrow strip to the south
forms the Cheshire area. The visible coal-field, according to
Strahan [2 /p. 206], covers 484 sq. miles, and the coal-bearing
measures continue to the south beneath newer rocks over an
area of 70 sq. miles.

The Coal-Measures were originally continuous with those of
the Yorkshire field, but are now separated from the latter by
the denuded surface of the Pennine Chain. The structure of
the field is complicated, but may be broadly described as a basin
of which the northern and eastern edges rest on the Millstone

ENGLAND 21

Grit, while the western margin is denned by a downthrow fault,
running north and south through Bickerstaffe, and throwing
down the New Red Sandstone. The southern segment is
hidden beneath the Mersey Valley. Faults are numerous, and
the measures are in general steeply inclined.

The middle Coal-Measures contain the following coals
(Strahan) :

District. No. of seams. tof coa l.

Northern ...... 15 46^ ft.

South-eastern . . . . . .19 70 ,,

South-western . . . . .21 75

Well-known seams among these are the Arley Mine, Wigan
Cannel coal, Ravenhead, Rushey-park, and St. Helen's Main.
Many collieries in this field have long operated at great depths,
Pendleton colliery, near Manchester, for instance, being 3,483
ft. deep.

The " actual " reserve of coal is estimated to be 5,600 million
tons. " Probable " reserves in the Cheshire basin and " pos-
sible " reserves around Chester, the Wirral, and Liverpool are
referred to under Concealed Coal-Fields below.

Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire [No. u on Map].
This coal-field is the most extensive in England. It extends
from Leeds to Nottingham, a distance of 60 miles, and is roughly
defined on the west by a line drawn from Halifax to a point
4 miles east of Derby, on the east by an arbitrary line running
east of Pontefract, Doncaster, Worksop, Mansfield, and Not-
tingham, beyond which the measures are hidden beneath un-
conformable Permian strata. The width is, therefore, still
unknown, but assuming an arbitrary limit to the east, the area
is estimated as follows :

Visible coal-field ........ 808 sq. miles.

Concealed but proved coal-field ..... 568

Concealed but partly proved in the Trent valley . . 760

Total . ... . 2,126

The Coal-Measures outcrop on the northern and western
margins, and dip at a gentle angle beneath the Permian cover
for an unknown distance to the east, in which direction the
structure of the field is still undetermined. Mining develop-

22 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

ments of an extensive kind have, however, been carried out in
recent years within the concealed area to the east and south of
Doncaster.
Coal-seams occur as under :

District No. of seams.

Northern area ..... 15 52 ft.

Central area . . . . . .18 40

Southern area . . . . .21 50

The chief seam is the Barnsley Bed, which is in places from
7 to 10 ft. thick, and has been worked from Barnsley to Not-
tingham. Other well-known seams are the Parkgate or Deep
Hard, the Flockton or Deep Soft, the Silkstone or Black Shale,
and the Warren House.

The output in 1913 reached nearly 75 million tons. The
reserve of coal over the proved coal-field in seams i ft. and more
in thickness was estimated by A. C. Briggs for the Royal Com-
mission on Coal Supplies in 1904 as follows :

West Yorkshire ...... 8,367,385,000

South Yorkshire ..... 10,770,620,000

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire . . 7,360,725,000

Total in long tons .... 26,498,730,000

But the figures given by A. Strahan [2 /p. 611] in 1913 are :

Reserve to 4,000 ft. . . . 40,254,216,000 metric tons.
from 4,000 to 6,000 ft . 985,000,000

Cumberland [No. 12 on Map]. The visible coal-field in this
county follows the coast-line from St. Bee's Head to Maryport,
a distance of 16 miles, and has its greatest width of 6 miles at
Workington. It then continues north-east as a strip, about
10 miles long, from near Maryport to a point south of Wigton.
Outcrops of Millstone Grit and Carboniferous limestone bound
it on the south-east and east, and faults cut it off on the south
and north. Its limits westward beneath the sea are unknown,
but at Whitehaven coal is being worked at a distance of 4 miles
from the shore.

Beyond the northern limits of the " visible " field a con-
cealed coal-field of much greater area possibly exists east-
ward and northward beneath the mantle of Permian measures

ENGLAND 23

as far as Carlisle, and beneath the Solway Firth to the small
visible coal-field of Canonbie in Dumfriesshire.

In the northern part of the known field there are 10 seams,
in the central part 20, and in the southern part n, aggregating,
respectively, 28, 57, and 45 ft. of coal. Inclusive of undersea
coal within 5 miles of the coast the estimated " actual reserve "
is 2,180 million tons, of which 40 per cent, is in the land area.
An additional " probable reserve " of 1,200 million tons is
estimated to lie between 5 and 12 miles from the coast under
the sea.

Durham and Northumberland [No. 13 on Map]. This im-
portant coal-field lies chiefly in the county of Durham. Its
outline is triangular, with the apex to the north at the mouth
of the River Coquet and the eastern side on the North Sea,
beneath which the measures extend. Its length from north to
south is over 50 miles, and its width ranges from 5 miles in
the north to 30 miles in the south. Permian rocks overspread
the Coal-Measures on the Durham coast and along the southern
margin. The area, of the field is computed as follows :

Coal-field exposed ..... 588 sq. miles.

under Permian strata . . . 125 ,, ,,
under the sea .... 136 ,, ,,

Total 849

The general structure of the field is that of a trough, with the
longer axis running north and south. The western margin
rises towards and rests against the Pennine Chain, and the
measures tend to rise in the north-east towards the floor of the
sea, and in the south as a sub-outcrop beneath the overlying
Permian rocks.

Sixty seams have been identified, of which from 20 to 23,
i ft. and more in thickness, are workable, and aggregate from
46 to 60 ft. of coal. The estimated " actual reserve " is 11,000
million tons, of which about 25 per cent, is under the sea. The
output in 1913 was 56,352,264 statute tons.

In the Carboniferous Limestone lying on the west of the
Coal-Measures in Northumberland there are irregular occur-
rences of a series of coal-seams which are the equivalent of the
3

24 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Lower Coal Series of Scotland. The seams number from 6 to
8, with an aggregate thickness of about 18 ft., and were esti-
mated by Lindsay Wood to contain 158 million statute tons
in the exposed portions. A further quantity of 2,455 million
statute tons was estimated to underlie unproved areas, and is
regarded as a " possible reserve." Some of these thin seams
must, however, lie at great depth, and it is open to question
whether all of this amount can be placed in the category of
available coal.

Kent [No. 14 on Map]. This concealed coal-field lies in
the east of Kent, and is entirely covered by Cretaceous
and Jurassic rocks, varying in thickness, roughly, from 800
to 1,400 ft.

Geological deductions, indicated by De la Beche in 1846,
and more fully elaborated by Godwin Austin in 1855, led to a
belief in and finally to a search for this field. Boring on the
site of the Channel Tunnel works proved the accuracy of these
deductions by the discovery of coal in 1890. Subsequent boring
has proved a coal-field of large extent, and the sinking of deep
shafts and mining operations have demonstrated the value of
the coal deposits, in spite of many difficulties, principally due
to the presence of water-bearing ground in the Cretaceous rocks
overlying the Coal-Measure. Similar, and at times even
greater difficulties, it may be pointed out, have been encoun-
tered and overcome in Belgium, the north-east of France,
Westphalia, and some of the concealed parts of the coal-fields
of England, with less technically perfect methods than are
now available.

The writer is greatly indebted to Professor William Galloway
for having placed at his disposal much information regarding
this field for the descriptions of its salient features, which is
here largely made use of.

The surface of the Coal-Measures dips southwards and
south-westwards. Its average depth below sea-level in a line
drawn from the South Foreland to Sandwich at a distance of
about 2 miles from the coast is a little over 800 ft. Near
Bishopsbourne it is 1,113, at Elham 1,323, and at Folkestone
1,374 ft. The thickness of the Coal-Measures in the Ripple
borehole was 2,248 ft., and at Oxney, near St. Margaret's,

ENGLAND 25

2,730 ft. were bored through without reaching bottom. These
measures, according to the late E. A. N. Arber, represent a
thick development of the Middle Coal-Measures, and of what
are known as the Transition Measures, which lie between the
Middle and Upper Coal- Measures proper, thus resembling, as
in the fossil flora, the measures of the Pas de Calais coal-field.
Nearly all the boreholes show that the seams of coal are more
numerous and individually thicker towards the base of the
measures than higher up, but for reasons not yet apparent no
convincing correlation of the seams found in the various bore-
holes has been established, except in the case of the seams
found in Barfreston and Waldershare boreholes and Snow-
down deep pit, and in that of the seam now being worked
in Snowdown and Tilmanstone collieries, in a distance of
about 4 miles.

Kent coal-field lies in a roughly elliptical, but unsymmetrical
trough in the older rocks. The major axis of the trough
runs from a point slightly north of Chislet, through Dover, and
continues for an unknown distance into the Channel. Starting
from the most northern point of the major axis, the margin of
the field curves round north-eastwards, gradually trending
southwards, until it passes under the sea near Sandwich, and
is thereafter supposed to turn more and more southward.
From the same point on the axis the western curve of the ellipse
turns westward, trending rapidly southward, and passes not
far west of Bishopsbourne, Elham and Folkestone, where it
disappears under the sea.

The length of the coal-field from Chislet to Dover is 15
miles ; its width from Ebbsfleet to Elham is about 10 miles,
and increases southward from that line. Its area under dry
land is, according to Strahan, about 150 sq. miles, to which
has to be added a submarine area of 56 sq. miles in an accessible
strip parallel with the coast.

The Ripple and Barfreston boreholes, 4^ miles apart, and
practically on the same line from east to west as Tilmanstone
and Snowdown collieries, may be taken as generally typical
of the coal-field, and are as follow :

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Ripple.

Barfreston.

Depth

Thickness

Depth

Thickness

Good

Quality of coal in

surface.
Ft.

of seams.
Ft. In.

surface.
Ft.

of seams.
Ft. In.

Coal.
Ft. In.

Barfreston bore.

[n/p. 168].

2,025

6 2

1,452

5 3

3 8*

Soft, friable, coking

2,077

I II

1,850

2 9

2,185

6 10

1,914

2 6

2,410

4 o

2,197

4 ii

4 of

Excel, domestic

2,637

i ii

2,762

6 9

Excel, steam

2,703

4 8

2,944

4 7

4 5

Steam and domestic

2,744

9 4

3,261

4 o

Medium steam

2,877

3 8

3,3i8

9 6

Navigation steam

2,992

i ii

3,328

3,170
Total

Limestone
40 5

40 3

* Beresford seam.

Moisture .
Volatile matter
Fixed carbon
Ash

f Snowdown Hard seam.

Analyses of Coal

Beresford.

Hard.

Seam at 2,944 ft.

1-39

0-87

0-83

30-31

26-98

20-87

62-87

68-10

75-75

5'43

4-05

2-55

100-00

The chemical constitution of the coal, as shown by these
analyses, is excellent. Galloway says, " The seams found
in Snowdown deep sinking below the Beresford are a
little harder than the latter, but all of them partake more of the
nature of the seams found in coal-fields between Kent and
Rhenish- Westphalia, inclusive of the latter, than of those
found in most of the coal-fields worked in other districts of
this country. Some of the seams found in the deeper boreholes
contain as little as 14 per cent, of volatile matter, and will,
therefore, as far as their chemical constitution is concerned,
rank as first-class steam-coals of the Welsh type. It remains
to be seen whether their physical constitution will entitle them
to be retained in that category."

Tilmanstone and Snowdown collieries have produced coal
since 1913 ; Chislet colliery is now producing a little coal,
and it is understood that the sinking at Guilford colliery has
now nearly reached the Coal-Measures.

ENGLAND 27

Tilmanstone and Snowdown collieries have produced the
following quantities from the Beresford seam :

v Tilmanstone. Snowdown.

Y mx> Tons. Tons.

1913
1914

1915
1916
1917
1918

40,054 27,946

82,310 55,823

41,546 103,126

103,040 118,109

135,350 I34, 8 9

129,002 109,087

531,302 54 8 > l8

The development of this coal-field has, considering its
geographical advantages, been singularly slow. For one reason
and another the necessary financial support has been difficult
to obtain, but the potentialities of the field must gradually
be recognized, and its resources utilized in many ways and
directions.

Strahan, following conservative lines, and allowing an
aggregate thickness of only 10 ft. of coal over the field,
arrives tentatively at a reserve of 2,000 million tons.
H. S. Jones, with later information available and apparently
on good grounds, trebles this quantity, and, in addition,
indicates a " probable " reserve of 3,600 million tons of coal.

Concealed Coal-Fields in England

The wholly concealed coal-field of Kent has now been
proved to a considerable extent by boring, and has entered the
list of producing coal-fields. Its general characteristics have
been already described.

At Burford, in Oxfordshire, a bore-hole put down in 1875-7
reached Coal-Measures at 1,184 ft-, an d is said to have passed
through some coal. More recently at Batsford, in Gloucester-
shire, Coal-Measures were reached at 1,021 ft., and were found
to rest upon Silurian rocks. Jurassic and Triassic rocks extend
over the district, and the existence of productive Middle Coal-
Measures is still undetermined.

Extensions of known coal-fields to greater depths, either
through the dip of the measures, or through downthrow faults,
beneath a covering of more recent rocks, constitute the other

28 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

known concealed coal-fields of England. These are in most
cases being gradually approached or proved by deeper borings
or sinkings. For the few details here given regarding them,
we are indebted to the short but lucid descriptions to be found
in The Coal Resources of the World, by Strahan.

South Staffordshire. To the west of the known coal-field of
South Staffordshire, towards Coalbrook Dale and north of a
line drawn from Bridgenorth to Sedgley, Lapworth con-
sidered there was a coal-field with a probable extent of 220 sq.
miles. Exclusive of coal supposed to lie at a greater depth than
4,000 ft. or to be otherwise unavailable, he estimated a " prob-
able reserve " of about 8,500 million tons. A " possible
reserve " may also exist in ground to the south of the above
area.

On the eastern side of South Staffordshire, towards the
Warwickshire coal-field, an area is estimated by Lapworth
to cover 292 sq. miles, to have on an average 35 ft. of
coal, and to contain a reserve of 10,000 million tons. But the
covering of Triassic and other unproductive rocks is thick,
and this large quantity of coal must for the present be regarded
only as a " possible reserve."

North Staffordshire. Lapworth has estimated that on
the southern margin of the North Staffordshire coal-field, a
sub-Triassic coal-field, extending from the north-western bound-
ary fault of the known field, eastward almost to Uttoxeter,
and as far south as Stone, has an area of about 96 sq. miles
and a coal content of nearly 6,000 million tons. Only half,
however, of this quantity is supposed to lie at a less depth
than 4,000 ft. and to come within the category of " probable
reserve."

Cheshire Basin. In the country between the coal-fields of
North Staffordshire, Denbighshire and Lancashire, coal prob-
ably exists. But the depth is prohibitive except in parts
towards the margins where there is a " probable reserve " of
30 million tons. To this is added 120 million tons, probably
raised by faults to within 4,000 ft. or less of the surface along
the eastern and north-eastern margins of the Cheshire basin.
The " probable reserve " is thus 150 million tons.

Chester, Wirral and Liverpool. A thick covering of Triassic

ENGLAND 29

and probably barren Upper Carboniferous rocks is spread over
200 sq. miles of this district reasonably supposed to be coal-
bearing. A thickness of 15 ft. of coal within this area would
produce nearly 3,000 million tons, but it is prudent to regard
this only as a " possible reserve." Deep boring at Heswall
entered unproductive strata below the Bunter sandstone.

Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. The Coal-
Measures of this coal-field have a general dip to the east, and
finally disappear beneath an increasing thickness of Permian,
Triassic and Jurassic formations. The eastern limits of this
extension are still unknown, but the aggregate thickness of
coal would appear so far to be maintained.

Strahan, from various considerations, reduces the estimate
of 2,550 sq. miles given in 1905 as the area of the extension,
to 760 sq. miles and the amount of " coal existing " from
46 million tons to a little under one- third of this figure. In
this estimate the assumed thickness of coal is 20 ft.

Vale of Eden and Solway Firth. On the northern side of the
fault forming the boundary of the Cumberland coal-field to the
north, there is an area of 40 sq. miles believed to be underlaid by
coal at a workable depth. On the assumption of 21 ft. of coal,
an estimate of about 814 million tons of coal is arrived at, and
this is regarded as a " possible reserve."

SCOTLAND

The principal coal-fields of Scotland are found in the coun-
ties of Midlothian, East Lothian, Fife, Linlithgow, Clackmannan,
Lanark and Ayr. Broadly speaking, they lie in a belt stretch-
ing for over 90 miles in a north-east to south-west direction
from the coast of Fife to the Ayrshire coast. The average
width is 25 miles. Small fields are also found, such as Lesma-
hagow in the south of Lanarkshire, Sanquhar in Ayrshire,
Campbelltown in the south of Argyllshire, and Canonbie in the
south of Dumfriesshire. The last is possibly continuous, under
the Solway Firth, with the concealed field in the north of
Cumberland if it exists.

Throughout England and Wales, except in part of North-
umberland, the coal-seams occur only in the Coal-Measures,

30 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

that is, in measures above the Millstone Grit. In Scotland,
the principal seams occur in the same horizon, but profitable
coals are also found beneath the Millstone Grit in the Carboni-

SCOTLAND

10 10 SO

ferous Limestone and, to a less extent, in the underlying
Calciferous Sandstone. These lower coals are evidently due
to the existence of swamp conditions favourable at times to
growth of vegetation, at a period when the areas to the south

SCOTLAND 31

were still covered by the sea. It naturally follows that the
Carboniferous Limestone and Millstone Grit are more sparingly
developed in the north than in the south. The coals of this
lower series are generally thin, but are well developed around
Lochgelly and Dunfermline in Fife.

The following table is from Walcot Gibson's work, The
Geology of Coal and Coal Mining [18] :

Sequence of the Carboniferous System in Scotland

(Red Sandstone ..... 600 ft.

Coal-Measures -! Upper Coal Series .... 300

[Lower Coal Series . . . . 800 to 1,500
Millstone Grits : Roslin Sandstone or Moorstone Rock

(almost barren of coals) . . . o to 700 ,,
Upper Series of

Lower Series of

Limestone
Calciferous Sandstone Series : Sandstone and Conglomerate

Portions of the Scotch coal-fields have been subjected, at
widely separated periods, to intrusions of igneous matter, which,
as vertical dykes, add to the cost of mining, and, as sills following
the beds, have destroyed large quantities of coal, particularly
in Ayrshire, 2 Fife [17] and Linlithgowshire.

Scotch coals are, as a rule, bituminous, and range in quality
from good to medium steam, gas, house and coking coal. An-
thracite also is found near igneous intrusions in the fields of
Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and Fife. Cannel coal occurs in Mid-
lothian, Lesmahagow and west and south of Glasgow.

The Lothian Coal-Fields [No. i on Map]. These consist of
the large, deep and, at the edges, steeply-inclined trough of
Midlothian, and the smaller and flatter trough of East Lothian,
partially separated from each other by the Carberry ridge.
The major axis of the former passes from south to north by

1 " Edge coals " of Midlothian.

2 The writer has observed at Trabboch Colliery, Ayrshire, intensely hardened
anthracitic coal in the centre of a 6-ft. seam untouched by igneous rock, and
of which the upper and lower sections remained bituminous, an effect possibly
due to the passage of hot gases evolved by igneous rock,

32 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Dalkeith and that of the latter by Tranent, the measures
striking north beneath the Firth of Forth towards Fife, where
they reappear.

The Midlothian field includes the Coal-Measures and the
Carboniferous Limestone or " edge coal " series, and has in the
upper series 15 seams of coal aggregating 40 ft., and in the
lower series, where best developed, 22 seams aggregating 65 ft.
[2 /p. 621]. In the East Lothian field, on the other hand, the
Carboniferous Limestone series only is represented, with 9
seams aggregating 31 ft. [io/p. 228]. Hull gives the total area
of these fields as 95 sq. miles, but Strahan, at a later date, gives
128 J sq. miles, and an estimated actual reserve of about 3,140
million tons.

Coal beneath the Firth of Forth [No. 2 on Map]. Coals of the
upper and the lower series stretch as a north and south syn-
clinal trough beneath the Forth, and occupy a probable area of
130 sq. miles. According to the figures of Gemmell, fur-
nished to the Royal Commission on Coal Supplies, the upper
series extends over 58 sq. miles and contains 20 seams aggregat-
ing on the northern shore 65 ft., and on the southern shore
40 ft. The lower series, to a depth not exceeding 4,000 ft.,
may occupy 58 sq. miles, and as exposed has, on the northern
shore, an average of 27 ft. of coal, and on the southern 44 ft.
Beneath the 4,000 ft. level the lower series occupies an esti-
mated area of 39 sq. miles.

The coal contents are estimated as follow :

Coal above 4,000 ft. . . . 4,252,000,000 metric tons.
Coal below 4,000 ft. . . . 1,334,000,000 ,, ,,

Fife and Clackmannan [No. 3 on Map]. As already men-
tioned, the Fife field is linked beneath the Firth of Forth with
the Lothian fields, and at its western end is, with the Clack-
mannan field, continuous beneath the River Forth and its
estuary with those of Lanark and Linlithgow. The area of
coal-bearing measures in Fife, inclusive of a strip in Kinross,
is 148 sq. miles, and that in Clackmannan, inclusive of a small
area in Perthshire, is 41 sq. miles. In Fife, 20 seams over
i ft. in thickness occur in the upper coal series and aggregate
65 ft., while in Clackmannan the number of seams decreases to

SCOTLAND 33

17 and the thickness to 50 ft. The lower series in Fife con-
tains 3gJ ft. of coal and locally, around Lochgelly, a consider-
ably greater thickness, but in Clackmannan the aggregate
decreases to 23 ft.

The " actual reserve " of coal is about 6,180 million tons,
and in Fife and Kinross the " probable reserve " between
4,000 and 6,000 ft. is 351 million.

Linlithgowshire [No. 4 on Map]. The coal-bearing area of
this county is 61 sq. miles. The Coal-Measures contain 4
seams aggregating 9 to 10 ft., and the Carboniferous Limestone
4 to 6 seams, with I2j ft. of coal, which, however, split up
and thin out westward. The famous Boghead mineral occurred
in the west of this district. The estimated coal reserve is 680
million tons.

Stirling and Dumbarton [No. 5 on Map]. Coal extends over
193 sq. miles of these counties, but in Dumbartonshire is found
only in the lower series. Where developed, the Coal-Measures
have 34 ft. of coal in 13 seams and the Limestone from 17 to
25! ft. of coal in from 10 to 15 seams respectively. The coal
reserve is 1,920 million tons.

Lanarkshire [No. 6 on Map]. In this great industrial county
coal is found over an area of 275 sq. miles. James S. Dixon
[16] has stated that the Coal-Measures, which occur over a large
area, contain in the Hamilton district 7 seams with an aggregate
thickness of 27 ft., and, below these, 4 seams with 9 to 10 ft. of
coal, while the Limestone series over an area of 235 sq. miles
may average 6 ft. of coal in thin seams, which thicken eastward
in Linlithgowshire between Bathgate and Wilsontown.

In the detached portion of the field to the south around
Douglas, 5 seams, aggregating 27! ft. of coal, are found in a
small area of the Coal-Measures, while the Limestone series,
which underlies part of the field, contains 50 ft. of coal on the
south-western margin and 37 ft. to the north. The blackband
ironstone of the lower series, discovered by Mushet early in the
nineteenth century, has contributed largely in the past to the
prosperity of this county. The coal reserve is estimated at
3,000 million tons.

Renfrewshire [No. 7 on Map]. The area of this coal-field is
73 sq. miles, but the coal reserves only amount to 135 million

34 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

tons, contained in 7 seams, aggregating i6| ft., in the Carboni-
ferous Limestone.

Ayrshire [No. 8 on Map]. Igneous rocks, occurring as erratic
lateral intrusions, have destroyed large quantities of valuable
coal, particularly in the southern half of the field, and in con-
sequence an estimate of reserves is difficult. J. S. Dixon, in
1904, estimated the available coal as 1,082 million tons,
while A. Strahan's estimate of the actual reserve in 1913 was
1,337 million tons distributed over 330 sq. miles.

The Coal-Measures in the northern part of the field contain
from 12 to 14 seams with 28 ft. of coal, and round the south-
eastern, southern and south-western margin, from 7 to n
seams with from 26^ to 30 ft. of coal. In the Carboniferous
Limestone around Muirkirk, from 10 to 13 seams aggregate
from 36 to 54 ft., but in the southern part of Ayrshire the
series is poorly developed, and it is estimated that the seams
over half the field become so thin and so affected by igneous
rock as to be valueless. The blackband ironstone of the lower
series occurs at Dairy in the north.

A narrow patch of the Limestone series, some 5 miles long,
lying in the Girvan valley, has 6 seams, with a total thickness
of 27 ft. of coal.

Dumfriesshire [No. 9 on Map]. Sanquhar Coal Basin. This
detached area of Coal-Measures extends for 5 miles, with a
width of 3 miles in the Nith valley beside the village of Kirk-
connel, and contains 8 seams with 23 J ft. of coal. The Lime-
stone series is absent. At Canonbie, 7 seams, each over 3 ft.
thick, and aggregating over 40 ft., have been worked, but never
wholly proved at one point. Two groups of seams are assigned
to the Coal-Measures, and one to the Limestone series. These
coal-bearing measures are overlaid to the south by the barren
red sandstones and shales of the Carboniferous system, on
which, in turn, Triassic sandstone lies unconformably. It is
possible that this field may be the northern limit of the concealed
coal-field in the north of Cumberland and the assumed part
beneath the Solway Firth. The coal-bearing area of this county
is estimated at 26 Jsq. miles and the coal reserve, inclusive of the
small amount in Argyll, apparently at 667 million tons.

Argyll [No. 10 on Map]. At Campbelltown, on the west coast

SCOTLAND 35

of Kintyre, 2 sq. miles on land and half a square mile under the
sea are occupied by Carboniferous Limestone, in which 8 seams
aggregate 45 ft. of coal. Mining has been carried on here for
many years on a moderate scale.

Sutherland [No. n on Map]. At Brora on the Dornoch
Firth coal of Jurassic age occurs and is probably nearly
contemporaneous with the carbonaceous strata of Whitby in
Yorkshire [19]. The coal, first worked here in 1598, is of com-
paratively little value. The estimated quantity is I million tons.

IRELAND

There is evidence that the Carboniferous system extended
over the greater part of Ireland, and that the productive Coal-
Measures occupied a large area. But denudation in Permian
times spared little of the latter, and remnants only of this
wealth of fuel exist in small and isolated coal-fields. The
coals in the northern half of Ireland are in general bituminous ;
those in the southern half are semi-bituminous or anthracitic.
They are found in seams which, excepting some in the Antrim
and Tyrone basins, are extremely thin.

G. A. J. Cole and E. St. J. Lyburn [2/p. 629] estimated the
" actual coal reserve " of Ireland to be 180 million tons, and
the " probable reserve " to be no million tons. Of the " actual
reserve," 153 million tons lies in the Leinster coal-field. These
resources, though comparatively small and mostly occurring
in thin seams, might be more fully utilized were greater local
enthusiasm applied to their continued development.

Bally castle [20]. This field [No. i on Map] lies on the north
coast of Antrim, and, though now practically abandoned, is
of considerable geological interest. The coal-bearing strata
are correlated with the Lower Coal and Ironstone series of
Scotland, and are in the belt of north-east and south-west
folding, which affected the Scottish coal-fields.

The section of strata on Ballycastle Bay includes the upper,
or Splint seam, 3 ft. thick ; the middle, or Hawksnest seam,
3 ft. thick ; and the lower, or Main seam, 4 ft. thick ; while
on Murlogh Bay, to the east of Fair Head, similar strata, with
seams from 2j to 5 ft. thick, are repeated over a small area. A

36 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

few hundred tons only were mined in 1917. The area of the
field is 4^ sq. miles, and if an average thickness of 3 ft. be
assumed, the " probable reserve " of coal is 13 million tons.

Tyrone [No. 2 on Map]. At Dungannon, in the southern
portion of this coal-field, Lower Coal-Measures outcrop, and
they are assumed to underlie an area of 8 sq. miles. Within
this area, in the northern part of the field, Middle Coal-Measures,

IRELAND

which are found outcropping at Coal Island, are assumed to
occupy an unworked area of ij sq. miles [21].

The coal-seams occur in descending order as follow l :

Upper Coal

impure

Annagher coal

soft quality

Bone coal .

Shining seam

Middle Coal-

Brackaville coal

good quality

Measures <
(Coal Island)

Gortnaskea coal

fcannel 2 ft.
\ coal 4 ft.

Baltiboy coal

sulphurous

Derry coal .

good quality

Yard coal .

good quality

<Creenagh coal

cannel, 14 in.

Lower Coal- 1
Measures J
(Dungannon)

:Drumglass Main
(variable)
Lower Monkey
coal

coal
3 t

i t

o 4

336]

Considerable faulting is found, particularly in the seams of
the Middle Coal-Measures. These seams have been rather
extensively worked to a shallow depth, but coal-mining in this
field seems to have ceased in 1917.

In 1919 boring was carried out by the Government towards
Lough Neagh to test the coal supposed to continue in that
direction, but the borehole was stopped before being com-
pleted. In the same year a Belfast firm began sinking at Coal
Island in order to develop coal-mining there.

The estimated " probable reserves " of Tyrone are : Middle
series, 43 ft. of coal over ij sq. miles, 63 million tons ; Lower
series, 4 ft. of coal over 8 sq. miles, 31 million tons.

A small outlier of Coal-Measures at Annaghone, 4 miles to
the north of Coal Island, is i J mile long, and less than one-fifth
of a mile wide. The thick Annagher seam of Coal Island was
worked here and is now exhausted, but in the lower seams,
if they exist here, there may be a " possible reserve " of 3 million
tons.

Lough Allen [No. 3 on Map]. (Arigna) [22]. This coalfield
lies in the counties of Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon, and
consists of two areas about two miles to the west of Lough
Allen, and a third situated at a similar distance to the east.
The seams occur in the Millstone Grit and Lower Coal-Measures,
which form the covering rocks of high table-lands about 1,100

1 For analyses see [23].

38 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

to 1,200 ft. above sea-level. The seams are found in descend-
ing order as follow :

Arigna Slieve-an-Terin

(West of Ivough Allen). (East of I^ough Allen).

Lower Coal- /Upper coal, i ft. 8 in. (not always ? Hidden by peat

Measures \ present and not worked)

Millstrmp Trif /Middle coal, i ft. 10 in. to 2 ft. 3 in. i ft. o in. to i ft. 7 in.
lt \Crow coal, 6 in. to i ft. 4 in. 2 ft. 6 in. to 4 ft. o in.

(coal and shale intermixed).

The coal of the middle seam is of good quality and commands
a fair price locally, but the thinness of the seam and lack of
drainage facilities have in the past impeded development.

The estimate of coal reserve in the two Arigna basins is 5
million tons, and in the Slieve-an-Terin basin 3^ million tons.
The production in 1917 was 2,200 tons.

Nodules of carbonate of iron are found in the Shales below
the coal-bearing strata, and this ore was formerly smelted on
a small scale at Drumahaire in Co. Sligo.

Leinster. Castlecomer [No. 4 on Map]. This coal-field,
which is the largest and most important in Ireland, occupies
portions of Kilkenny, Carlo w and Queen's counties, and covers
95 sq. miles. It occurs as a synclinal basin rising above the
surrounding Carboniferous Limestone. The middle and lower
Coal-Measures only are found, and the seams contained are
anthracitic. The coals of the middle series are mostly worked
out, the only coal left being about 3 J million tons in the Jarrow
seam. In the lower series, the second lowest seam, known
either as the Upper Towlerton or Skehana or Wolfhill seam, has
an average thickness of 20 inches. It is assumed to underlie
the whole of the field, and to contain 150 million tons. The
output in 1917 from Kilkenny was 61,742 statute tons, and
from Queen's County 14,156 tons.

Tipperary. (Slieveardagh) . Tipperary coal-field, known
also as Killenaule, lies to the south-west of the Leinster field
and contains anthracitic seams, which have been correlated
with those of Leinster. The upper Towlerton seam, known here
as the Upper Glengoole seam, varies from 18 to 24 inches in
thickness, and is estimated to contain 15 million tons. The coal,
in the limited area occupied by the middle Coal-Measures, may
be regarded as exhausted. The output from Tipperary in 1917
was 4,403 statute tons.

IRELAND 39

Clare, Limerick, and Kerry [No. 5 on Map]. Coal-Measures
are found extensively in these counties, and coal has been
worked to a small extent. Little, however, seems to be known
regarding the coal, except that the seams in general are thin,
and that two are reported to be thick, but remote from transport
and market. Anthracite has been worked west of Kanturk,
to the north of Abbeyfeale, and at Ballaghbehy.

ASIA
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO

Coal is found in many localities in British North Borneo, but
much investigation will be necessary before an estimate of the
reserve can be made. The Coal is supposed to be entirely of
Tertiary age.

According to T. Posewitz [24], " coal-beds extend along the
coast from Sarawak to Brunei. Thence they are continued
either along the coast or on the neighbouring islands." They
are known to occur at the following places, beginning in the
west of the State of Sarawak, and continuing round the coast
to the north of the island, and down the eastern coast to St.
Lucia Bay :

Near the junction of the Simunjan river with the Sadong ;
on the river Linga, a tributary of the Batang Lupar ; on the
rivers Rejang, Mukah, Bintuluh ; in the north-east of Sara-
wak on the Baram river ; in the Territory of Brunei in the
Limbang river and its tributary, the Madalam ; near the town
of Brunei at Muara or Brooketon ; on the island of Labuan ;
in the territory of the British North Borneo Chartered Co. at
Batu-Batu in Brunei Bay, on Gaya island, on the Sequati and
Kurina rivers, on the Benkoka river east of Marudu Bay in the
extreme north of Borneo, in Sandakan Harbour, and at
Silimpopon, 12 miles from the shore of St. Lucia Bay in the
south-east of the Territory. Coal also occurs in the interior
at a locality south-west of Mt. Kinabalu, and at Penungah on
the Kinabatangun river.

In the Muara coal-field there are 5 seams, 28, 26, 29, 5 and
2 ft. thick, the first two being worked. The seams, where
explored, dip at an angle varying between 45 and 80, and, from

40 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the nature of this roof and floor, it has been conjectured that
they are inverted, but at a distance of two miles the strata
assume a gentle dip, and the seams may here be found in a
normal position.

T. Lewis [2/p. 90] gives the following analysis of the 28-ft.
seam: Water, 11-48; Vol. matter, 40-24; F.C., 46-70; Ash,
1-58 ; Sulphur, 0-36 ; Calories, 6,667. This thick seam is
remarkably low in ash, like thick Tertiary coal-seams at Ombilin
in the west of Sumatra (27 ft. thick), at Makum in the north-
west of Assam (80 ft. thick), and in the Westport-Mokihinui
coal-field of New Zealand (high-class coking coal ranging from
4 to 50 ft. thick).

An ultimate analysis of Labuan coal, made by John Percy,
is as follows : C, 72-27 ; H, 5-20 ; and N, 14-28 ; S, 0-30 ; Ash,
1-85 ; Hygroscopic moisture, 6-10.

The structure of the Silimpopon coal-field on St. Lucia Bay
is believed to be synclinal, and the strata are gently inclined or
horizontal. One seam, 5 ft. 10 in. thick, with 4 ft. 8 in. of
workable coal, is being mined. An analysis of the dried coal
is as follows :

C, 70-64 ; H, 5-62 ; O, 8-80 ; N, 0-85 ; S, 2-47 ; Ash, 11-62 ;
Calories, 7,416 [2/p. 92].

It is estimated that this field has an " actual reserve " of
5,600,000 tons, and a " probable reserve " of 70,000,000 tons.

FEDERATED MALAY STATES

The discovery of the Selangor coal-field prior to the war
has been a great boon to Federated Malay States. Starting
with an output of 11,523 tons in 1915, the collieries turned out
101,846 tons in 1916, 155,279 tons in 1917, 168,740 tons in
1918, and 191,293 tons in 1919 Hydraulic filling of the waste
on account of the thickness of the seams is to be adopted.

The coal would appear to be a Tertiary lignite. An
analysis made at the Imperial Institute gave : Water, 18-23 ;
Volatile, 35-50 ; Fixed carbon, 41-19 ; Ash, 5-08 ; Sulphur,
0-38 ; Calorific value, 5,466 calories [2/p. 349].

Excellent briquettes have been made in England from this
coal [25] [26].

INDIA 41

INDIA

The coals of India are found chiefly in the peninsular area
and, to a comparatively small extent, in the extra-peninsular
hill country of Assam and British Baluchistan, in Sind, Raj-
putana, Burma, and the Andamans and Nicobars.

The coals of economic value in the peninsular area are of
Permo-Carboniferous age ; those of the extra-peninsular
districts are of Tertiary age, except certain small coal-fields

of Assam, which are of Cretaceous age, and of the Salt Range
in the Punjab, which are of Jurassic age. The Jurassic measures
of Cutch contain seams of coal which are, however, so far as
known, too thin to be of economic value.

Before the more important coal-fields are dealt with in detail,
it may be of interest to glance at one or two outstanding
features of Indian geology which have a bearing on the subject
of the Coal-Measures. For this purpose it is convenient to
consider the country as divided into three areas, namely, (a)

42 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the peninsular area of the south, (b) the mid-north diluvium-
covered area of the Indo-Gangetic belt, (c) the extra peninsular
area to the north, east and west.

The peninsular area has maintained geological stability and
its character as a land surface over an immense period of time,
from the earliest palaeontological record to the present era.
The extra-peninsular area, on the other hand, has experienced
immense changes in elevation, culminating in Tertiary times
in stupendous uplifting from the depths of an ocean bed to the
towering heights of the folded Himalayan region. It there-
fore follows that the geological changes effected over these two
areas are of different orders. In the peninsular area the active
agencies were sub-aerial, fluviatile and plutonic, and fossil
evidence is almost entirely terrestrial and capricious, while in
the extra-peninsular areas the changes are largely subaqueous,
and the fossil evidence, being marine, is of a more definite
and reliable nature. By a correlation of the strata containing
these coeval evidences, many of the puzzling problems regarding
the age of the terrestrial deposits can be solved.

Not only was India bounded on the north during Permo-
Carboniferous times by an immense sea stretching far beyond
its borders, and of which the Mediterranean is now a remnant,
but it was the northern portion of a land surface connecting it
with Central and South Africa, Australia and South America,
the whole forming the land surface known to geologists as
Gondwanaland. To the existence of this land surface may
be traced the marked similarity of the terrestrial fossil remains
in the Permo-Carboniferous Coal-Measures of these countries.

The geological sequence of the Gondwana rocks with which
the Coal-Measures are associated is as under :

Division. Series. Stage. Approximate age.

'Panchet Zechstein

fRaniganj ^j

, Damuda -I Ironstone shales [ Artinskian
Lower Gondwana -( \Barakar J

/Karharbari Uralian

\Boulder-beds Muscovian

At the base of the Talchir series there occurs a glacial boulder-
bed, known as the Talchir conglomerate, and analogous with
glacial boulder-beds in Australia, South Africa, and South
America. The Karharbari stage contains coal sparingly. By

INDIA

some authorities it is considered that this stage, with the Giridih
coal-field, should be classified with the Barakar beds.

The Damuda series, if with it be included the doubtful Giridih
coal-field, contains all the workable coal-seams of Peninsular
India, and over 99 per cent, of the whole available Indian coal.
The Barakar and Raniganj stages are the productive measures ;
the ironstone shales are barren.

A general description of the coal-fields of India is given by
H. H. Hayden in The Coal Resources of the World, 1913, and a
detailed description by Ball and Simpson [35] , while a concise
summary has been compiled by T. H. D. La Touche [67]. An
exhaustive record of analyses of Indian coals by Wyndham
R. Dunstan is included in his papers The Coal Resources
of India and their Development [42].

Output of Indian Coal-fields for Years 1916 and 1917

(In long tons of 2,240 Ib.)

1916.

1917.

Tons.

Per cent, of
Indian total.

Tons.

Per cent, of
Indian total

Bengal, Bihar and Orissa :

Daltonganj .

76,298

0-44

79,627

0-44

Giridih

866,055

5-02

824,007

4-52

Jaintia

75,089

0-44

86,894

0-48

Jharia

8,950,318

51-87

9,783,788

53-72

Bokaro -Ramgarh

197,255

1-14

360,760

1-98

Raniganj

5.535.307

32-09

5,376,022

29-52

Sambalpur (Hingir-

Rampur) .

59,737

0-35

52,892

0-29

Central India :

Umaria

200,285

1-16

198,407

1-09

Central Provinces :

Ballarpur .

84,889

0-49

95,303

0-52

Pench Valley

154,548

0-9

204,502

I-I2

Mohpani

48,395

0-28

71,693

0-39

Hyderabad :

Singareni

615,290

3*56

680,629

3'74

Assam ....

287,315

1-66

301,480

1-65

Baluchistan

42,163

0-24

40,785

0-22

N.W. Frontier Province .

75\

O.oft

Punjab

47499/

49,869/

O'29

Rajputana

13,841

0-08

6,045

0-03

Total

17,254,309

100-0

l8,2I2,9l8

100-0

NOTE. In 1918 the output of Indian coal-fields amounted to 20,721,543
long tons, an increase of 14 per cent, on that of 1917 (Rec. Geol. Surv. Ind.,
50, part 3, 1919, P- H5)-

Possible Reserve.

II 11 1 1 II 1 | | | |

s 1

M M

1
3

II 1 II

88 8 8

80 oooooo o* o o "
O OOOOOO O lOOii^O
O^ O^ O^ O_ O^ O^ O O^ O O O MO

o" o" o^ o" o" *o 10 o" t^ oo o <

8O NOt^C^M vo iOO ^O
iO C^ iO C^ O M
ci M <xT M~ N~

IO O. C4 I O

M" o" rf O*
CO M N O

'robable Reset

11 w IrfpJ lo pj 1 1 1 1 IP M
ww

II 1 Ifi

en co (/)

flJ rn

s- = = I sr = - -- I g- = M o

OO OOiOOO O TI-O ^
ei * < '

(S C^ M 1 CO

M" M" M

88 | 88
1 1 || 1 ! 1 II 1 1 1 I ||

ro MM

1 '}'

<J
g

lit
<2

1 1 * j ! 1 1 1 1 1 1 w P P M

MM t Ml

PP 1 P 1

11 6 8 .
M srsrl 1 1 I I I I 1. #.-!/

* IH HN o vO
O iO cO

? ,1,

1 rf 1
O v> O

o fo N

iO t^ 00

. rj

8 I

2 g?

2 ' 3'S ' ' W W 1 '"

P-i s, 42 f ; <o ,ij
1 1 1 S *" -ft * 1 ^

1-5- 1 JJ'aiml^l

yiiJiliiliiiljiii

s cd t O Qti<ii^i(/)CQcii sfti "sco S P^

^11 I^HI iw>i-^i^r-i B

fiq O O

o3 o| o

g g g OH-| 03

M M M Ml

1 1 1 1 1 1

III

2^ S

1111

1511

o o

o" o"

I q I | | | 1 I I

o o
o" o"

1 1 1

II I S I I Ml

| | | |o

QQ I I I

d-:

Ills-

Mil

ooooo
80 o o o
oooo

oooo

8888

o o

8 8

'ill

o o

O 1 1

8 ' 1

188888

o > 1000 o

1 H!

II 11?,

coo
iO C*

co co

"I <N M t^-
CO t^

M M

1 Q Q 1

rfl 1

| OOO | O

|o | |o !

II 1 II Q .

, =,

. ga*

Cw rrt

11 .3
,-'! I -o
l^lsl

UllSii

c3^ g ^ GNJ.bp

^ t- 1 ^* HH C^

flq

46 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Assam

Coal-Measures of Tertiary and Cretaceous age are found in
Assam, the former in the extreme north-east on the north-
western front of the Naga, Patkai and Singpho Hills, and the
latter more to the south-west in disconnected areas in the
Jaintia, Khasi, and Garo Hills, where, however, Tertiary coal
also occurs to some extent.

Makum (No. i on Map]. The Tertiary coal of Upper Assam
has attained its greatest development at Makum between the
Tirap and Namdang streams, where a seam, ranging from 15 to
80 ft. in thickness and averaging probably 50 ft., is being actively
worked by the Assam Railway and Trading Company. Other
seams occur, and the aggregate thickness of coal is about 80 ft.
The strata dip about 40 to the south-east, that is, towards the
hills, and as the outcrops are at several hundred feet above the
plains, large quantities of coal can be won by adits. The coal
is one of the best in India, and has the following average
composition : Carbon, 75-90 ; Hydrogen, 5-18 ; Oxygen and
Nitrogen, 12-42 ; Ash, 2-03 ; Water, 2-15 ; Sulphur, 2-15 ;
Calories, 7,447.

Interesting accounts of the district are given by H. H. Hayden
[49], J. M. Maclaren [72], and G. E. Harris [48] (manager of the
collieries). The last named has estimated that down to water-
level the total quantity of coal between the Tirap and Namdang
streams is 90,000,000 tons. The output in 1918 was 294,484
long tons.

Namchik [No. 2 on Map]. The Coal-Measures extend north-
easterly from Makum for a distance of 40 miles, and, on the
Namchik river, 30 miles from Makum, a seam is exposed con-
taining 21 ft. 6 in. of excellent coal, with three interbedded
clay-bands aggregating 4 ft. 3 in. [79].

Jaipur, Nazira, Janji and Disai [No. 3 on Map]. South-
west from Makum coal is found consecutively at Jaipur, Nazira
[88], Janji and Disai, a distance of 100 miles. An average of
23 samples of coal from these districts and the Makum field
assayed : Hygroscopic Moisture, 5-0 ; Vol. matter, 34-6 ; Fixed
Carbon, 56-5 ; Ash, 3.9 [73].

INDIA 47

Mikir Hills [No. 4 on Map]. In the Mikir hills, westward
from the Disai river, coal occurrences have been reported on by
F. H. Smith, Saise, and La Touche at :

Longloi [89] ; coal 12 ft. thick and poor in quality ;
Dissoma river [85] ; two seams of lignite, 3 ft. loj in.
and 3 ft 3! in., with 13 per cent, of moisture and 5-8 per
cent, of ash ;

Nambor [89] and Doigrung rivers [65] ; coal valueless on
account of the high ash content.

Jaintia and Khasi hills [No. 5 on Map]. W.S.W. from the
Mikir hills there are the Jaintia, Khasi, and Garo hills on which
Tertiary and Cretaceous coal is found at various points.
Oldham [78] reported on a few occurrences, and Ball and Simp-
son [35/p. 25] refer to the more important localities in short
descriptions.

The coal-seams occur over an aggregate area of considerable
extent, but in more or less isolated fields from 500 to 5,000 ft.
above sea-level. At any one spot there may be two and,
occasionally, three seams, which, though sometimes 7 ft. thick,
are usually less than 5 ft. The quality of the coal is at times
distinctly inferior, through excess of moisture and iron pyrites,
but in certain cases is excellent, as, for example, at Cherra-
punji and Maoflong, where Tertiary coal, 3 to 7 ft. thick over a
small area, has a composition given as : Volatile matter, 37-1 ;
Fixed Carbon, 62-0 ; Ash, 0-9. The amount of coal available is
still undetermined.

Garo Hills [No. 6 on Map]. In the southern portion of the
Garo hills Cretaceous coal occurs at Daranggiri on the Sumesari
river, and westward near Harigaon. H. B. Medlicott [75]
reports that the only field of value is that at Daranggiri, north
of the point where the river cuts through the main range at
Jankaray village. La Touche [66] mentions 6 seams, of which
one, varying from 3^ to 7! ft. in thickness, is workable. None
of the others ever exceeds i ft. The seam lies horizontally, is
undisturbed by faults, and is mostly above the level of the main
streams. The coal is bright black in colour, with a brown
streak, contains numerous specks of resin, and burns freely.
The average analysis given of two samples is : Moisture,
8-8; Volatile, 36-3; F.C., 49-8; Ash, 5-1. The available coal

4 8

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

is estimated at 76 million tons, but the field cannot be
developed till connection with the railway has been effected
by means of an aerial ropeway and a branch railway.

Baluchistan

In the arid and mountainous country passed through by the
Sind-Pishin railway, via Chapper Rift, coal of Tertiary (Middle
Eocene, Laki-division) age is found over a considerable area
about 4,000 ft. above sea-level. The seams are numerous, but
highly- inclined, and the district is much disturbed by faults.
Coal of workable thickness only occurs at one or two places.

Khost Collieries [No. 7 on Map]. The chief of these is along-
side of Khost railway station, where mining is systematically
carried on by the North-Western Railway. The Khost col-
lieries are, according to Griesbach [45], situated in a wedge of
strata let down between parallel faults, but the mining area is
free from faults. The dip of the strata is about 50 to the S.W.
The principal seam worked. is from 22 to 26 in. thick, and assays ;
Water, 2-29 ; Vol. matter, 41-51 ; Fixed Carbon, 46-52 ; Ash, 9-68.
A. Mort, the manager, in an interesting description of these
collieries [77], gives the following analysis of the coal :

Carbon

Hydrogen

Sulphur

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Moisture

Ash

67-69
5-21
4-08

13-48

i'57

2-09

5-88

100,00

Calorific value, 6,528 calories.

Fixed carbon and volatile hydro-
carbon are approximately equal
in amount.

About 20,000 tons of briquettes per year are made from coal-dust.

Sharigh [No. 7 on Map]. Near the station of this name, 8
miles east by south of Khost, old workings on 2 seams with
i6 in. and 21 in. of coal were reopened in 1910, and in the
same year a 32-inch seam was opened up at Harnai, 23 miles
east by south of Khost. Coal also occurs, and is worked on a
small scale at Digari in the Zharakhu valley, Mach, and the
Sor Range [No. 9 on Map]. In 1913, coal was being won from
a thin seam a few miles from Quetta [No. 8 on Map] for use in
the town. The writer at that time examined an outcrop in the

INDIA 49

foothills some 15 miles N.E. of Hindu Bagh, in the Zhob
valley. The coal is in very disturbed strata, in which nummu-
litic limestone occurs, and appeared valueless on account of its
shattered condition. The output from Baluchistan (inclusive
of Kalat State) in 1918 was 43,125 long tons.

Bengal

Darjeeling [No. 10 on Map]. The coal-deposits of Darjeeling
are of Damuda age, and may probably be correlated with those
of the Aka and Daphla hills north of the Brahmaputra oppo-
site Disai and Janji in Assam [74] [40].

Bose examined a belt of Coal-Measures 2f miles long and
| mile wide between the Lisu and Romthi rivers in the sub-
Himalayan range and 3 or 4 miles from its foot. Severe earth
movements have crushed and powdered the coal, and altered
it, in places, approximately to anthracite or graphite, but, in
general, the coal retains its caking character. All the rocks
are usually tilted at an angle of from 45 to nearly vertical.
Thick seams are numerous, and Bose estimated that 5 J million
tons of coal could be readily won within an area of 100 acres,
and that in the square mile examined there might be 20 million
tons. Ash varies from 13 to 22 per cent., and a comparison
with Raniganj coal is as follows :

Vol. matter. F.C. Ash.

Darjeeling, average of 8 samples . . . 22-94 59*5^ 17*42
Raniganj, average of 31 samples . . . 30-63 53*20 16-17

The powdered character of the coal limits its application
to the making of coke, carbonized coal, 1 or briquettes.

Jainti, Sahajori, Kundit Kuraiah [54/p. 247]. These three
small and unimportant coal-fields lie 160 miles N.W. of Cal-
cutta, near the Giridih field, and comprise nj sq. miles occu-
pied by Barakar rocks. The seams are few, and none exceeds
3 ft. in thickness. Samples from Sahajori contained from 28
to 37 per cent, of ash.

Giridih (Karharbari) [No. n on Map]. This small, but
valuable coal-field lies 175 miles N.W. of Calcutta. The coal-

1 A kind of carbonized coal from slack is used by natives in their huts on
the Jherria coal-field.

50 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

bearing Barakar beds occupy 7 sq. miles, are much faulted, and
are subject to igneous intrusions which have destroyed much
coal [8 4 /p. 86] [51].

In descending order there are (i) Hill seams, (2) Karharbari
seams, and in both groups numerous seams occur. The Hill
seams individually have a great thickness, and aggregate from
33 to 96 ft., but the ash varies from 13 to 55 per cent. The two
lowest seams have been extensively mined. In the Karhar-
bari group the so-called " Lower " seam is the most important.
It exists over the whole area, is uniformly of good quality, and
has seldom less than 12 ft. and on average 15 ft. of excellent
coal described by Saise in 1894 as the finest steam coal in
India. In this respect some of the finer coals now developed
in the Raniganj and Jherria basins are certainly equal to it.

It assays : Vol. matter, 24-42 ; Fixed C., 66-84 ; Ash, 9-15.
The average calorific value is about 6,873 calories [42/p. 393].

The available coal in the field was estimated by Saise as 113
million tons. The output in 1918 was 5,302,295 tons.

Bihar and Orissa

Talchir [No. 12 on Map]. The Talchir coal-field lies in the
valley of the Brahmini, a river north of, and parallel with the
Mahanadi. It is 220 miles W.S.W. of Calcutta and no miles
due west of the mouth of the Brahmini. The coal, on account
of an excessive amount of ash, is of little economic value [36]

[27]. ;

Rajmahal Hills [No. 13 on Map]. The centre of this locality
is about 160 miles north by west of Calcutta. Barakar beds
are exposed in the west of the hills, and occupy an area of 70 sq.
miles [28]. They also extend into the hills beneath the younger
sedimentary beds and trap-flows to a distance which must be
conjectural ; no instance was observed by Ball of the coal being
affected by the overlying basaltic trap. The seams are thin, an
average of 5 ft. of workable coal being a probable maximum,
and in the exposed area contain a total of 210 million tons of
coal. Some 100,000 tons have probably been won from this
district, much of it very inferior quality. Samples from thir-

INDIA 51

teen localities assay : Fixed Carbon, 42-13 ; Vol. matter, 39-50 ;
Ash, 16-37.

The coal-fields about to be described, from Raniganj to
Karanpura South, are situated in the Damuda valley, and
occur in order from east to west. These and a few adjoining
basins contain the great reserve of Indian coal.

Raniganj [37] [No. 14 on Map]. This is the largest coal-
field being worked in India, and is the most adjacent to Cal-
cutta, from which it is distant about 115 miles in a direct north-
west direction. The area of coal-bearing rocks of Barakar and
Raniganj horizons is 400 sq. miles [35/p. 44], and an extensive
addition eastward under the Gangetic alluvium and the higher
beds of the series is indicated by recent boring. The field is
bounded on all sides, except the eastern, by the metamorphic
basement rocks. It has sunk on the southern and south-
western edge along a line of fault, so that the measures have in
general a tilt to the south at angles of from 5 to 20. Numerous
faults and dykes are met with in the workings here and there, and
small areas of coal have been destroyed by igneous intrusions.
Ball and Simpson state that the coal deteriorates in passing
from west to east, and that as a general rule no first-class coal
exists east of a fault running between Raniganj and Egarah.

In the upper or Raniganj horizon 10 seams, with an aggregate
thickness of no ft., have been worked [37], and in the Barakar
horizon four seams with a total of 69 ft., while many other seams
are known to occur within the field. Assuming an average
thickness of 50 ft. of workable coal, the total quantity of coal
would be over 21,000 million tons. Of this, 500 million tons
are first-class coal, 350 million are medium quality coal, the
balance being second-class coal.

Saise [83] gives the following summarized analyses :

q pri >c Moioturp Vo1 - Fixed . . Number

* re - matter Carbon. Ash " sample*

Raniganj (Upper seam) . 6-99* 32-30 49-28 n-43 7

do. ( do ) 6-64 32-06 40-25 21-05 4

do. (Lower seams) . 3-79 31-76 52-94 11-51 20

do. (do. ) 3-74 31-26 46-41 18-59 8

Barakar .... 1-12 25-13 59*75 14-00 2

do. . . . i-oo 26-80 52-69 19-51 5

* Note. It is probable that the moisture is sometimes as high as 9-0.

52 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

As Saise points out, there is a progressive dehydration as
the seams deepen in the series. 1

The coal is bituminous, but only of good coking quality
in certain seams. Ball and Simpson state that the best coal
is in the lower seams of the Raniganj series, although their
quotation of tests published by F. C. Hughes [52] indicates a
higher calorific value in coal from the Barakar series.

Jherria [No. 15 on Map]. Jherria coal-field, 16 miles west
of Raniganj, ranks in importance second only to Raniganj,
while in production it now ranks first. It occupies a basin
semi-circular in shape, and has an area of 150 sq. miles. The
strata in general dip at about 10 from all sides towards the
centre of the basin, but more steeply on the southern margin,
where, as in Raniganj , but to a less depth, the measures have
been let down by faulting into the metamorphic rocks, and
preserved from complete denudation.

Unlike Raniganj, the lower or Barakar series of Jherria field
contains the best and thickest seams, and Ward [90], who re-
surveyed the field, gives a total of 17 seams exceeding 5 ft. in
thickness in this group. Another seam, No. 18, was discovered
by Stonier in 1902, and several more have since been discovered.
In the upper, or Raniganj series, two workable seams are said
to occur near the base. A recent description of the field has
been given by G. H. Green well [44]. Numerous igneous dykes
have destroyed large quantities of coal, and from their effect
at unproved depths an estimate of the coal reserves must be
conjectural.

Difficulty in mining and serious loss of coal have been
experienced through the great thickness and the liability to
spontaneous combustion of some of the best seams ; for
instance, i seam is 100 ft. thick. It is inclined at 45, and
sections of it are being worked. It is evident that methods
of working used in thin seams require modification in seams of
such mammoth dimensions, and it is gratifying that sand-
filling or " flushing " of the goaf is now in operation at one or
two collieries in this field.

The average composition of the coal varies greatly, but that

1 It may also be noted that variations in the ash contents affect only the
amount of fixed carbon, and not the volatile matter. J. H. R.

INDIA 53

of seams Nos. 12, 13 and 17 (Barakar series) given by Ward is :
Vol. matter, 29-14 ; Fixed Carbon, 59-30 ; Ash, 11-56. Holland
[50] gives 15 as the average ash percentage of these seams. 1
Moisture is about i per cent. Nine samples of coke gave 0-66
per cent, of sulphur and 0-17 per cent, of phosphorus. The
better coals of the Jherria field have an evaporative power of
about 12-5 [42/p. 393]. The output in 1918 amounted to
10,951,060 tons.

The coal reserves of Jherria have been estimated at : First-
class coal 500 million tons, and second-class 21,000 million tons.

Bokaro Jherria [53] [No. 16 on Map]. This field, which is
now found to be a continuation of the Jherria field, stretches
westward about 40 miles, and has an average width of 5f miles
and an area of 220 sq. miles. Coal-seams are very numerous,
but of workable thickness only in the Barakar series, which, in
the eastern ten miles of the field, has several thick seams of good
quality. One in particular, the lowest, is 88 ft. thick, and has
a moderate dip. Elsewhere, the beds are much faulted and
generally steeply-inclined, while, throughout the field, igneous
intrusions have destroyed much coal. The southern boundary
fault of the preceding fields is also more or less in evidence
here. The probable coal reserves of the field are 1,500 million
tons. Active mining is now being carried out, chiefly by the
East Indian and Bengal-Nagpur Railways, and the produc-
tion in 1918 was 541,977 long tons [59].

Ramgarh [29] [No. 16 on Map]. This field lies on the
Damuda river some 5 miles south of Bokaro, and has an area
of 40 sq. miles. In the eastern portion the seams are generally
thick, but of variable quality ; to the west the coal is better,
but crushed, and the strata are faulted. Ball [34], on the
scanty data available, estimated 5 million tons as a safe figure
for the coal reserves.

Karanpura [No. 16 on Map]. This is the most westerly of
the six coal-fields, beginning with Raniganj, which stretch from
east to west in the Damuda valley [54/p. 285] [35/p. 57]. It

1 It is noticeable that the percentage of fixed carbon plus ash is, with a
few exceptions, always close to the constant 78-5. The percentage of volatile
matter is not affected by the proportion of ash, a fact also particularly notice-
able in Saise's analyses of coal from the Raniganj field J. H. R.

54 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

lies immediately to the west of Bokaro and Ramgarh fields, and
is divided by a strip of basement gneiss into North Karanpura
and South Karanpura areas. Hughes computes in the northern
area 250 sq. miles, with 35 ft. of coal and a content of 8,750
million tons, and in the southern area, say, 15 sq. miles, with
50 ft. of coal, representing 75 million tons. The actual quantity
of coal is probably much greater.

A few occurrences only of igneous intrusion are observable,
and the fault common to the southern margin of the fields to
the east, is here almost the only one indicated. The better
seams assay: Volatile, 27-0; F.C., 64-5; Ash, 8-5 [35/p. 57].

Chope [30] and Itkuri [55]. These two small fields lie north
of Kalanpura, and contain coal only fit for use in local brick and
lime kilns.

Aurunga [31] [No. 17 on Map]. Six miles west of Kalanpura
field; area, 58^ sq. miles. Seams in the Barakar beds are
numerous and sometimes very thick, but only three merit
attention. The quality of the coal is inferior, as indicated in
the following analysis : Moisture, 6-7 ; Volatile, 29-2 ; F.C.,
36-5 ; Ash, 27-5 [3i/p. in].

Hutar [31] [No. 17 on Map]. This field lies on the Koel
river, about 12 miles west of Aurunga. Barakar beds cover
57 sq. miles, and contain three workable seams measuring 8 ft.,
8 ft., and 13 ft. 8 in., but the extent of these is unproved, and
an estimate of quantity cannot be made. A composite assay
of eight samples was : Moisture, 5-95 ; Vol. matter, 28-00 ;
Fixed Carbon, 55-35 ; Ash, 10-70.

Daltonganj [64] [No. 18 on Map]. This field is situated on
the Koel and Amanat rivers from 16 to 20 miles north of the
Hutar field. Coal-bearing Barakar beds are found over 30 sq.
miles, and boring made by the Public Works Department in
1891 indicates the existence of two seams over most of this area.
But these appear to be of economic value only over i sq. mile
to the east of Rajhara, where it is estimated that there may be
9,000,000 tons of coal. The analyses usually quoted, being
from borehole samples made at that date, are open to question,
and, since the average annual output from 1909 to 1916 was
80,000 tons, it may be assumed that the coal is of a useful
quality.

INDIA 55

Central India

Rewah State

Singrauli [No. 19 on Map]. This is the most northern field
in the province. Coal was discovered near Kota by Wroughton
in 1840, and was being mined in 1855-7 when Roberts and
Smith reported on the field. Smith records a 6 ft. seam 6
miles S.W. of Kota, and a 21 ft. seam about 12 miles further
west. Oldham's party surveyed the Rewah district in 1895-6,
but Griesbach's Notes [46] on the work give no further useful
detail than that " there is here a large coal-field with an
abundant supply of coal." The surveyed area of Coal-Measures
is said to be 200 sq. miles ; what area may be coal-bearing was
evidently unknown.

It is interesting to note that in the Talchir horizon striated
and polished boulders were observed in the glacial beds, and
that in the Damuda measures Glossopteris attached to the
rootstock Vertebraria were found.

Sohagpur [No. 20 on Map]. This field has an area of 1,600
sq. miles. It is characterized by the great lateral extent of
the coal-seams, their nearly horizontal position at a shallow
depth, their small number and moderate thickness. A detailed
account of the field by Hughes [56/p. 177] was published in
1885. The most important seam is described as about 5 ft.
thick, and was traced from near Bargaon for 10 miles along its
outcrop. Reader, in 1899-1900, found it ranging from 4 ft. 8 in.
to 13! ft. thick between Bageha stream and the Son river.
Seams of moderate thickness and fair quality are exposed at
Nandnah, Bhalmuri and Sabo. Average analysis : Water,
3-7 ; Vol. matter, 26-0 ; F.C., 58 ; Ash, 12-3. No estimate of
the coal reserves has been made.

Six miles westward from the most westerly point of this field,
coal-bearing Barakar rocks are again exposed in the Johilla
field ; 23 miles W.N.W. from the same point is Umaria field,
with Korar field 4 miles to the north. To judge from Hughes's
map, these are extensions and the western limits of Sohagpur
field, separated from the latter by intervening country covered
by more recent measures. But Hughes does not express an
5

56 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

opinion on this point. Metamorphism of sandstone by intru-
sions of trap to rock, indistinguishable in hand specimens from
ordinary granite, was observed west of the town of Sohagpur.

Johilla [56]. Area, uj sq. miles ; two seams, respectively
17 ft. and 6 ft. Analysis: Vol. matter, 34-85 ; F.C., 54-43; Ash,
10-72. Hughes hazards the estimate that within a depth of
500 ft. there are at least 100 million tons of coal. The mining
rights are under the direction of the Rewah Durbar [35/p. 78].

Umaria [No. 21 on Map]. Area of exposed Coal-Measures,
6 sq. miles ; six seams, four being worked ; thickness from 3 ft.
to 12 ft. [35/p. 76]. Coal, non-coking ; analysis: Moisture, 5-46 ;
Vol. matter, 19-71 ; F.C., 66-71 ; Ash, 8-12 (Hughes). Coal
reserves to 500 ft. deep, 55 million tons. Since 1900 the
working of the coal-field has been under the direction of the
Rewah Durbar. In 1918 the output of the State was 199,975
tons [35/p. 78].

Korar [56] [No. 21 on Map]. Situation, 4 miles north of
Umaria field, of which it is probably a continuation ; area,
9 J sq. miles ; four seams proved at a shallow depth, varying in
thickness from 4 to 8 ft. No reliable analysis is available, and
the possible quantity of coal cannot be estimated.

Central Provinces

Extending south-westerly from the western end of the
Raniganj-Hutar line of coal-fields there are Ramkola-Tatapani,
Bisrampur, Jhilmilli, Lakhanpur, Rampur (Sarguja), and
Korba coal-fields. The coal occurs in Barakar beds.

Sarguja State

Ramkola-Tatapani [47] [No. 22 on Map]. Area is 100 sq.
miles, with probable considerable extension under upper Gond-
wana rocks. The measures are much faulted and intruded
with trap as sheets and dykes. There are several seams, but
few of economic thickness or quality. The best, on the Morne
river, can be traced for more than a mile, and varies from
3 ft. 6 in. to 7 ft. 9 in. The quantity and quality of the coal
generally are unproved, and the isolation of the field precludes
early development.

INDIA 57

Bisrampur [32] [No. 22 on Map]. Situation, south of
Ramkola and difficult of access ; area, 400 sq. miles. The
strata are mostly horizontal and free from faults. The seams
are numerous, but thin, so far as known, and boring is neces-
sary. Analyses given by Ball are :

Seams. Moisture. Volatile. F.C. Ash.

Rehr and Pasang rivers . . (5-5) 37' 6 57' 5'4

Mahan and Masan rivers . . (4-0) 32-3 48-1 19-6

Jhilmilli State

Jhilmilli [56/p. 69] [No. 22 on Map]. Lies due west of Bis-
rampur field ; area, 41 sq. miles. Ball's description, quoted
by Hughes, is based on a hurried examination, and only indicates
the existence of coal. A thin seam is said to occur in the
Talchir beds [35/p. 2].

Sarguja and Bilaspur

Lakhampur [35/p. 81] [No. 23 on Map]. Is south of Bis-
rampur, partly in Sarguja and partly in Bilaspur ; area, accord-
ing to Lala Hira Lai [70], is 340 sq. miles. Coal from several
outcrops from 3 to 9 ft. thick, contains from 5 to 28 per cent,
of ash, and is non-coking. A typical sample had 13 per cent,
ash.

Rampur (Sarguja) [No. 23 on Map]. Lies south of Lakhan-
pur ; estimated area, 70 sq. miles. Ball described the field
in 1882 [33], and Lala Hira Lai [71] later mentioned numerous
outcrops from 2 to 7 ft. thick. The ash content is from 12 to
25 per cent., but that of i seam of 5 ft., a mile east of Bhahue,
is reported as less than 4 per cent.

The following small coal-fields adjoining the foregoing have
been described by Lala Hira Lai in MS. reports 1885-9, but
are apparently of little value. They are Bansar, Panchbhaini,
Sendurgar, Damhamunda.

Chattisgarh Division

Korba [No. 24 on Map]. In Chattisgarh Division, south of
Rampur field ; area about 300 sq. miles [68/p. 95]. A seam
50 ft. thick, near Korba, was described by Blanford [38],

58 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Boring by King in 1886 showed this seam to be valueless, and
did not disclose any large quantity of good coal elsewhere, but
King states that Hira Lai found one seam, 5 ft. 3 in. thick, with
7 per cent, of ash, on Aharan river, near Sumedha. The Bara-
kar coal-bearing beds, either exposed or covered by younger
rocks, extend in this division to the south-east through the
Hand river and Rampur (Ball's Raigarh-Hingir field) fields to
the Ib river, a total distance of 100 miles. Hand river coal is
very inferior.

Rampur (Raigarh-Hingir) [No. 24 on Map]. This field
lies partly in Bihar and Orissa, and has an area of 300 or 400 sq.
miles. Boring, conducted by King [62] between 1884 and
1886, proved numerous seams, with 30 per cent, or more of ash.
Subsequent boring, advised by Reader [81] in 1900, disclosed
workable coal, and mining was begun in 1909. The output
in 1918 is given as 51,036 tons.

Korea State
i

Lying between Jhilmilli on the east and Sohagpur on the
west, this hilly and rather inaccessible state has been partially
examined by Hughes [56/p. 202] and by Fermor [43]. It
possesses four separate coal areas, viz. Senhat, Jhagrakhand,
Kurasia and Koreagarh.

Sanhat [No. 25 on Map]. This is the most northern and the
largest field, 50 miles long from east to west and 8 to 12 miles
wide, comprising 330 sq. miles. It is traversed by the head-
waters of the Hasdo (Hestho) river. Two seams of value
occur, with an average dip of 10 to 12 to the north. The
lower is valueless in its western half, but from 4 to 9 ft. thick
over a length of 16 miles in its eastern portion, and has the
following variable composition: Moisture, 3-18 to 8-20; Volatile,
26-90 to 29-50 ; F.C., 37-60 to 50-46 ; Ash, 15-38 to 32-24.

The upper seam is of value only towards the west, and varies
from 3 ft. 6 in. to 9 ft. 9 in. in thickness. It assays : Moisture,
3-10 to 5-71 ; Volatile, 2l-o6 to 26-33 ; F.C., 36-82 to 50-16 ;
Ash, 22-98 to 36-68.

Kurasia [No. 25 on Map]. This field lies 5 miles south of
Sanhat field ; its area is 48 sq. miles, and is divided into the

INDIA 59

Kurasia and the Chirmiri portions. In the former, six coal
horizons were noted, of which the third, in descending order,
shows a seam from i ft. to 8 J ft. thick, and possibly averaging
5 ft. over 4 sq. miles. It assays : Moisture, 7-52 to 1074 ;
Volatile, 30-12 to 31-32 ; F.C., 46-96 to 49-88 ; Ash, 9-32 to 13-82.

The fourth horizon at one locality has a seam nj ft. thick,
and the fifth at another locality has a seam 8 ft. thick. The
quailty is good, and further investigation is desirable.

In Chirmiri area, seven seams, aggregating 36 ft. of coal in a
total thickness of 48 ft., are found at Karar Khoh waterfall.
The two lowest seams are each 12 ft. thick, and are separated
by i ft. of shale. The mean composition is : Moisture, 7-7 ;
Volatile, 29-1 ; F.C., 51-2 ; Ash, 12-0. The coal thins out rapidly
in all directions, but possibly from i to 2 sq. miles may carry
coal at least 10 ft. thick, yielding about n million tons per
square mile.

Jhakra-khand [No. 25 on Map]. Coal 5 ft. thick, and of good
quality, is said to occur here [56/p. 198].

Koreagarh [No. 25 on Map]. In Koreagarh, Fermor reports
" three exposures, with thicknesses varying from 3 to 5 ft., with
intervening bands of stone." The description is obscure.

Satpura

The Satpura basin begins about 60 miles W.S.W. of Jabalpur,
and lies south of the Nerbada river. Its estimated minimum
area is 2,000 sq. miles, but much of the surface is occupied by
rocks more recent than the Coal-Measures, which are definitely
proved only at intervals. The chief localities are : Mohpani,
Shapur (Betul) and Chhindwara.

Mohpani [No. 26 on Map]. Situation, on the north of the Sat-
pura hill ranges ; area of exposed Coal-Measures (Barakar),
over i sq. mile, but south, east and west these measures continue
under younger rocks, and to the north beneath Nerbada allu-
vium. Ball and Simpson [35/p. 92] refer to four seams ranging
from 5 to 25 ft. in thickness ; on the other hand, La Touche
[68/p. 100] mentions four seams ranging from 2,\ to 10 ft., and
that the most recent exploration proves "an aggregate thickness
of 27 ft. over a considerable area." The estimated workable

60 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

coal is 8 million tons which further exploration may consider-
ably increase. Recent analyses give : Moisture, 2-52 ; Vol.
matter, 24-26 ; F.C., 4871 ; Ash, 24-01 ; Sulphur, 0-50. The
G.I. P. Railway exploits the field, and in 1918 produced
78,792 tons.

Shapur [No. 27 on Map]. Situation, 60 miles S.W. of Moh-
pani, on the Tawa river, between Betul and Hoshangabad ; area
of exposed Barakar measures, 26 sq. miles. H. B. Medlicott
in 1875 [76] recorded a number of fairly promising outcrops, but
subsequent boring failed to prove any coal of value [35/p. 93].

Chhindwara (Pench Valley) [No. 27 on Map]. This field
occurs as a narrow belt lying east and west on the south of
Satpura range on the Tawa, Kanhan and Pench rivers, and
covers 100 sq. miles. E. J. Jones [60] recognized five distinct
coal areas :

1. Sirgora ; area, I sq. mile ; one seam proved, 5 ft. thick,
assaying : Moisture and Vol. matter, 28-0 ; F.C., 61-6; Ash, 10-4.

2. Barkoi (Pench Valley) ; area, 7-4 sq. miles ; three workable
seams, 7^ ft., 5 ft., and 5 ft. ; estimated available coal, 100
million tons ; composition : Water and Vol. matter, 22-8 ;
F.C., 53-5 ; Ash, 23-6 [35/p. 95].

3. Hingladevi ; area, 2-8 sq. miles ; one seam from 2 to
5 ft. thick, exposed and said to be of good quality.

4. Kanhan ; area, 12 sq. miles ; several seams, from 5 to 10 ft.
thick, exposed ; one at Datha assayed : Water, 5-34 ; Vol.
matter, 28-36 ; F.C., 48-58 ; Ash, 17-72, but other samples
gave up to 46 per cent, of ash.

5. Tawa ; area, 79 sq. miles, partly in the Betul district ;
outcrops are few, but a seam of 7 ft. and another of n ft. occur ;
two samples assayed : Water, 3-05 ; Vol. matter, 26-20 ; F.C.,
51-90 ; Ash, 18-85.

The output from the Pench Valley in 1918 was 267,303 tons.

Chanda District, Wardha Valley

The coal-fields of this district, with the exception of Bangar,
lie along the valley of the Wardha river for a distance of 70 miles.
They consist of Banda, Warora, Ghugus, Wun with Junara and
Chicholi, Sasti and Ballarpar, and Paoni [57]. The district is

INDIA 61

characterized by great thickness of coal contained practically
in one seam.

Bandar [No. 28 on Map]. Situation, 50 miles S. by E. of
Nagpur and 30 miles N.E. of Warora; area of coal-bearing
Barakar rocks, 6 sq. miles. Three seams occur, with a maximum
total thickness of 38 ft. (Ball and Simpson, p. 90) . Boring proved
an aggregate thickness of 17 ft. over i sq. mile [68/p. 96].
Quality is similar to that of Warora.

Warora [No. 29 on Map]. Situation, in Wardha valley, 62
miles south of Nagpur ; area, 3 sq. miles, with 20 million tons of
available coal [57]. One 12 ft. and one i5-ft. seam occur. The
coal is friable and inferior to that of Raniganj, containing an
excess of moisture and sulphur. Fires from spontaneous
combustion are said to have caused the loss of 70 per cent,
of the coal [41], and pumping charges were heavy. A serious
subsidence in 1906 finally led to the closing of the collieries and
a transference of operations to Ballarpur [68/p. 96]. About
3 million tons of coal in all have been produced. Two analyses
gave : Moisture, 11-72 ; Vol., 29-33 ; F.C., 43-80 ; Sulphur,
1-55 ; Ash, 13-60.

Ghugus [No. 29 on Map]. S. of Warora; area, 3 sq. miles ;
seam, 32 ft. thick, depth to top 74 ft. ; Composition : Vol.
matter, 33-49 ; F.C., 45-61 ; Ash, 20-90. Estimated available
coal, 90 million tons [57/p. i]. A little coal was won here in
the early seventies.

Wun. N.W. Ghugus ; area of probably productive coal
lands, according to Ball and Simpson [35/p. 89], is 80 sq. miles,
containing 2,100 million tons ; quantity proved between Wun
and Papur, 105 million tons ; coal thickness, 15 ft. Also
quantity proved between Junara and Chicholi, 150 million
tons ; coal thickness, 30 ft. Composition : Vol. matter, 19-4 ;
F.C., 63-9 ; Ash. 16-7.

Ballarpur. 7 miles S.S.E. of Chandha ; chiefly on the
Hyderabad side of the Wardha river ; area proved by boring,
i| sq. miles ; thickness of workable coal, 20 ft. On stoppage
of Warora (see above) a colliery was started ; production in
1917, 86,261 tons. Composition : Water, 12-30 ; Vol. matter,
31-09 ; F.C., 45-34 ; Ash, 11-27 (La Touche) [68/p. 96].

iw Coal.

Briquette No. i.

Briquette No. 2

22-90

14-84

9.32

35-36

40-64

44-36

38-16

38-78

38-80

3-58

5'74

7-52

62 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Raj put ana

BikaHer [No. 30 on Map]. The only known coal of Raj-
putana is of lower Tertiary age (Eocene), and was discovered
during the sinking of a well, 13 miles S.W. of Palana [68/p. in].
It lies immediately beneath nummulitic limestone at a depth of
212 ft., is persistent over a considerable area, and varies in
thickness from 3 to 30 ft. The coal is a resinous, woody lignite
of a brown-black colour, and is liable to rapid disintegration and
spontaneous combustion. The moisture can be reduced by a
special process of briquetting described by W. H. Phillips [80],
as indicated by the following analyses :

Moisture

Volatile

F.C.

Ash ...

The apparent alteration in the ratio of volatile matter to
fixed carbon is noticeable. Further interesting notes on the
subject of briquetting are given by E. H. Robertson [82], and
reference to the treatment of lignite is made under " Canada,"

p. 103.

The output declined from 45,078 tons in 1904 to 11,334 in
1918. As the measures are overlaid by a sandy plain the coal
reserves can be determined only by boring.

Punjab

The coal deposits of this province are unfortunately few and
far between, of scant development, and of generally poor
quality. The need of coal in the arid and treeless districts
where they are found, alone gives them the little importance
they possess. The coal of economic value is chiefly of Tertiary
age (Eocene, Laki division) ; a little Jurassic coal is found.
It occurs in the following localities :

Jhelum (Salt Range) [No. 31 on Map]. At Bhaganwala
[69], at the eastern end of the range, a colliery worked by the
North-Western Railway Co., produced 13,145 tons, but, in
1899-1900, owing to the inferior quality of the coal, operations
were discontinued j at Dandot [35/p. no], 19 miles west of

INDIA 63

Bhaganwala, and at Pidh [68/p. in], 3 miles from Dandot,
the same company worked mines from 1884 to 1911. The
output declined from 92,000 tons in 1897 to 30,000 tons in 1911.
Local contractors in 1916 produced 44,944 tons. The coal is
a friable, much- jointed lignite.

Shahpur (Salt Range) [No. 31 on Map]. Jhakar Kot
[68/p. in]. The coal here, as in Jhelum, occurs in shales and
sandstones, beneath nummulitic (Eocene) limestone, as lenti-
cular beds separated laterally by wide intervals of barren
ground. The average thickness of seam is about 3 ft.

Mianwali [No. 32 on Map]. Isa Khal, west of the Indus.
Simpson [86] surveyed this field in 1904, and described three
areas :

(a) Kalabagh : Jurassic measures, with 3 seams possibly
containing 80,000 tons.

(b) Kuch : Jurassic measures, containing about 14,000 tons
in two seams, too thin to be profitably worked.

The coal production of the Punjab in 1918 was 50,658 tons,
of which the bulk was from the Jhelum area.

North-West Frontier Province [68/p. 107]

Indications of coal occur in Hazara (Dore River), also near
Kohat, in the Sherani Hills, and in Wazaristan, but no coal of
value has been found.

Kashmir

The Jammu coal-fields [No. 33 on Map], in the south of
Kashmir, lie within 35 miles of the Punjab frontier. They are
of Tertiary age, and were examined in 1904 by Simpson [87],
who has described the areas known as the Ladda, Sangar Marg,
Mehowgala, Siro Valley, Kalakot and Lodhra coal-fields.

Of these fields, Mehowgala, Kalakot and Lodhra are value-
less. Siro Valley has coal of fair quality in two seams from
I ft. to 4 ft. thick, lying at an easy angle, containing possibly
750,000 tons. Ladda and Sangar Marg are portions of the one
field separated by the Chenab river, but, according to Simpson,

64 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the only workable part is in Ladda, between Ladda and the
Anji river, a length of 10 miles. Here the single seam, varying
in thickness from nothing to 20 ft., and averaging 31 inches,
may contain if million tons, with a possible addition of about
2 million tons.

Analyses of Ladda coal, with a few exceptions, show an
abnormal percentage of ash, and frequently over 5 per cent.
of sulphur. On account of these features Simpson suggests
that washing and briquetting the coal would be necessary.

Hyderabad
Pranhita-Godavari Valley [61]

Ball and Simpson [35/p. 95] and La Touche [68/p. 103] de-
scribe eleven small detached coal-bearing areas of Barakar
rocks in this province. King's memoir, though thirty-eight
years old, best describes the geological features of the district.
Beginning at Ballarpur of the Wardha River field and going
southward we find the following coal areas : Sasti, Antargoan,
Aksapur, Tahdur, Chinur, Kamaram, Bandalla, Singareni,
Kunnegiri, Lingalla and Madavaram.

(a) Sasti [No. 34 on Map]. A continuation westward of
the Ballarpur field of the Wardha Valley already referred to
[35/p. 90]. One seam of 50 ft., composed partly of good
coal and proved over an area of ij sq. miles, may contain
30 million tons.

(b) Antargoan [No. 34 on Map], south of Lathi Ghat on
Wardha river, contains a seam, with 5 ft. 3 in. of coal, which,
at the outcrop, has 20 per cent, of ash and 8-7 of moisture.

(c) Aksapur [No. 34 on Map], a small exposure of Barakar
rocks on the Jangaon river, in which coal has not been
found [6i/p. 180].

(d) Tandur [No. 34 on Map]. A seam, 15 ft. thick at Khair-
gura, but of varying thickness down to 9 ft., was traced by
Hughes for 7 miles to the Guloti river. Analysis : Vol. matter,
42-2 ; F.C., 45-6 ; Ash, 12-2 (Water, 9-4).

(e) Chinur [No. 34 on Map] consists of a narrow belt of Bara-
kar beds, without visible outcrops of coal, between Chinur and

INDIA 65

Sandrapali villages. But water-borne lumps of coal are found
in the Godavari river near the mouth of its tributary, the
Sandrapali stream [58].

(/) Kamaram [No. 35 on Map], an area of 156 acres, with a
6 ft. and a 9 ft. seam of good coal, estimated to contain 130,000
tons.

(g) Bandalla (Allapalli) [No. 35 on Map]. On the Kumer-
sani river, an outcrop of coal, 6 ft. thick, is referred to by King,
and Blanford, in 1871, noted fragments of coal 22 miles further
down the river at Allapalli, probably derived from an outcrop
of the seam.

(h) Singareni [No. 36 on Map]. Four seams in descending
order, measuring, respectively, 30 to 40 ft., 6J ft., 4| ft., and
3f to 7 ft., were proved by boring. The thick seam consists
of alternating bands of coal and shale, and parts are said to be
workable, but the fourth seam, known as the King seam, only
has been worked. In the latter, Saise estimated a quantity of
36 million tons [84/p. 53]. J. P. Kirkup has described the
colliery operations [63].

The output in 1918 was 659,129 long tons. Analyses are :

Moisture. Volatile. F.C. Ash.

Thick seam . . . 34-50 53-50 12-00

King's seam . . . 7-60 25-25 56-50 10-65

(i) Kunnegiri [No. 35 on Map]. A small patch of Barakar
rocks without visible coal.

(;') Lingalla [No. 37 on Map]. Blanford [39] records the
finding of a 5-ft. seam in the bed of the Godavari river, and two
thin seams in the banks. Boring here and on the western side
of the river appear to have proved no coal of value, but in
1891 a seam, with 4^ ft. of coal, is said to have been struck at a
depth of n ft. on the British side, and 70 tons of good coal were
raised.

(k) Madavaram [No. 37 on Map]. A small field lying on
both sides of the Godavari below Bhadrachellam. On the
Hyderabad side boring disclosed 3 seams, of which one at 247
ft. was 4 ft. thick, and another at 272 ft. was 6 ft. In 1897 a
5j-foot seam of fine quality was reported to be struck on the
British side, and to contain about 24 million tons of coal. Ten
sq. miles are supposed to be coal-bearing [35/p. 96].

66 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Madras
Godavari Valley

Kamthi rocks occur extensively in this valley, but the under-
lying Barakar beds, with coal outcrops, are found in the Madras
Presidency only at Beddadanol and Madavaram (or Damer-
cherla). To what extent the Coal-Measures may continue
beneath the Kamthi strata is quite unknown.

Beddadanol [No. 37 on Map]. Four seams of coal and coaly
shale passed through in boring are so high in ash as to be quite
valueless.

Madavaram. (See Hyderabad, p. 65.)

Burma

Thin lenticular strings of poor coal, referred to the Carboni-
ferous period, occur in the Tennasserim valley ; with this excep-
tion, the coals of Burma are of Tertiary age. These Tertiary
coals are lignitic in character, more or less hydrous, and poor
in quality. With a few exceptions the seams are thin, and the
quantity of available coal is small. These features limit its
application strictly to local use. 1 References to the individual
occurrences are made by Ball and Simpson [35] and La Touche
[67], who append a bibliography of the various reports on the
fields.

AFRICA

KENIA, TANGANYIKA TERRITORY AND SOMALILAND (see p. 158)

NYAS ALAND

The coal of Nyasaland, which was discovered during the
course of a mineral survey carried out in co-operation with
the Imperial Institute, occurs in rocks of the Karroo forma-
tion distinguished by examples of Glossopteris and other plants
characteristic of that formation [92]. These rocks are found

1 But in Hsipau State of Northern Shan States, considerable deposits of
Tertiary coal occur. At a point 1 50 miles east of Mandalay and 50 miles west
of the Chinese border a coal-seam, 24 ft. thick without parting, is being opened
out at Namma by the Burma Corporation. The seam dips at 45 at the out-
crop, but gradually assumes a less angle as it is followed down. It assays :
Moisture, 14; Vol. matter, 33; Fixed C., 48; Ash, 5.

AFRICA 67

in the north of the territory, and in the extreme south-west
between the Shire river and the Portuguese border.

In the northern district the Mount Waller area has outcrops
of a 2-ft. and a 5-ft. seam yielding excellent caking coal.
Analyses made at the Imperial Institute showed : Vol. mat.,
23-80 to 28-11 ; F.C., 56-92 to 66-73 ; Mois., i-oi to 1-30 ;
Ash, 8-15 to 17-98 ; S., 0-59 to 0-64 ; Cal., 6,814 to 7,982.
It is sufficient to say at present that the coals of Nyasa-
land, with the exception of that of Mount Waller, are
varied in quality and generally very high in ash, and that
the seams, so far as known, are few and comparatively
thin [91].

RHODESIA

The coal of Rhodesia occurs in the Karroo formation, chiefly
in the basin of the Zambesi river, and to a small extent in
the valley of the Limpopo, near Tuli, and of the Sabi to the
south-east of Victoria.

Very little exploratory work has yet been carried out, and
active mining has hitherto been confined to the Wankie coal-
field at a point on the railway 212 miles north-west of Bulawayo
and 68 miles south-east of Victoria Falls.

But the needs of Mashonaland must before long be satisfied
by the extension of the railway system to the north-west of
Salisbury into the coal-bearing ground in that direction.

The coal-seams worked at Wankie colliery range from 6 to
~L2\ ft. in thickness, tending to thicken towards the west, and it
is stated that 4 miles west of the colliery the seam was found
to be 28 ft. thick. To the north-west the Coal-Measures are
thrown down by the N.E.-S.W. Deka fault to. a depth esti-
mated by G. W. Lamplugh to be not less than 2,000 ft., and are
hidden beneath the basalts over which the Zambesi plunges
at the Victoria Falls. An analysis of Wankie coal is as
follows : Moisture, 0-71 ; Vol., 21-51 ; F.C., 64-11 ; Ash, 11-05 ;
Sulphur, 2-62. Evaporative power is about 13.

H. B. Maufe [103 A] estimates the coal reserves to be :

Actual Reserve .... about 420 million tons
Probable Reserve . . . . ,, 550

Total .... <o~

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

The coals of South Africa occur in the Karroo System, which
comprises rocks that are regarded as ranging in age from
Upper Carboniferous to Jurassic. The following sequence
represents the complete development of the series and the
beds, but it is doubtful if they have been deposited in their
entirety in any one spot :

Karroo System

Series. Beds. Type Fossils. Period.

fDrakensburg Volcanics

Stormberg

Beaufort

Ecca

JCave Sandstone
(Red Beds
iMolteno Beds

f Upper (Burghersdorp Beds)

Idle
I Lower

( Upper \

I Middle " Coal-Measures "/
I Lower (Pietennaritzburg
I Shales)

Deinosaurs
Deinosaurs
Thinnfeldia

Cynognathus
Lystrosaurus
Pareiasaurus
Glossopteris
plants

Jurassic
Rhaetic *

Triassic
Upper Permian

Dwyka

Shales)
C Upper Shales
-I Glacial Conglomerate
(Lower Shales

Upper
Carboniferous

Lower
Permian
Archaeosuchus
Mesosaurus f
Gangamopteris
Phyllotheca

* Some geologists include Rhaetic in the Triassic ; others in the Jurassic,
f In Brazil Mesosaurus occurs above Glossopteris.

There has been much diversity of opinion in regard to the
separation of the Ecca from the Dwyka Series, but the table
may be taken as fairly representing the result of most recent
research. There are admitted difficulties in correlating the
South Africa series with those of Europe, and the measures
classified as Upper Carboniferous [iO2/p. 236] and Permian
share with their equivalents in Australia, India and South
America, the uncertainty that has led to the use of the term
" Permo-Carboniferous " in reference to them.

The Karroo formation is most fully developed in Cape
Province, where the maximum aggregate thickness is not less
than 19,000 ft. [i02/p. 167], including the volcanic beds. There
is a continuous thinning out of the component formations in
passing northward and eastward from Cape Province and Natal
towards the central portions of the Transvaal, where in the
Witbank coal-field the average thickness, exclusive of the
glacial conglomerate [99/p. 22] is only about 200 ft., and im-
mediately east of Johannesburg even less.

AFRICA

For a clear conception of the Karroo formation in the Trans-
vaal it is essential to keep this point in mind [ioi],

A remarkable feature of the system is the Dwyka or Glacial
Conglomerate, the product of a period of extreme cold. It
stretches over immense areas of South Africa, either as the
surface rock or overlaid by younger members of the system,
two-thirds of Cape Province, large portions of the Orange Free
State, the Transvaal and Natal, and a small portion of

Southern Rhodesia being occupied by rocks of the Karroo
system.

The only workable coal of Cape Province is found in a clearly
denned position, that is, in the Molteno beds of the Stormberg
series, and is referred to Rhaetic age. Thin and unworkable
seams also occur in the Lower beds of the Beaufort Series.

The coals of the more northern regions in Natal, Zululand,
the Orange Free State and the Transvaal occupy a more debat-
able horizon. They have been variously referred to the Storm-

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

berg, the Beaufort, the Ecca and the Dwyka Series. But the
recent researches of Du Toit [94] and others in tracing the
formations from their points of fullest development in Cape
Province, northward through Natal, leave little doubt that they
belong to the Middle beds of the Ecca Series, (with the exception
of certain occurrences of outlying districts where coal of the
Lower beds of the Beaufort Series is developed.

Cape of Good Hope

The coal-seams are found in the Molteno-beds [No. i on
Map] of the Stormberg district, about 130 miles N.N.W. from
East London [iO2/p. 464] [96]. Three workable seams occur,
the lowest being the Indwe seam, the second, about 80 ft.
higher, the Guba seam, and the third, 300 ft. above the Indwe
seam, the Molteno seam. The layers of coal in any seam
seldom exceed 12 inches in thickness and alternate with bands
of black shale. At Molteno, for instance, a 6 to 7-ft. seam has
about 4 ft. of coal. The seams occur more or less as detatched
areas, between which the coal merges into shale, or has been
removed by contemporaneous erosion. Rogers and Du Toit,
and Schwarz [103] adduce the presence of this shaly ad-
mixture as evidence that the vegetable matter was transported
from a distance, but whether correct or not, the inference is
difficult to reconcile with the evidence of " drift " origin in the
case of the singularly pure coal of the Buller coal-field in New
Zealand.

Numerous intrusive dykes and sheets of dolerite have fre-
quently produced a coking effect on the coal. This and the
high percentage of ash are shown in the official analysis quoted
by Rogers and Du Toit, as under :

Molteno.

Cyfergat.

Indwe.

Bamboes

Matatiele.

Cala.

Moisture

I-I3

2-24

17-34

i'45

1-37

1-50

Vol. matter .

10-31

21-25

19-16

24-68

9-50

Fixed Carbon .

60-89

51-04

61-80

54-92

47-53

68-51

Ash

28-80

23-86

21-53

23-90

25-10

I9-70

Sulphur

0-76

1-48

o-93

i-33

0-79

101-89 99-87 100-67 100-36 loo-oi 100-00

The amounts sold in|i9i6, 1917, and 1918 were, respectively,
41,752, 8,300 and 4,654 tons (2,000 lb.). In spite of its

AFRICA 71

inferior quality, Cape Province coal, through absence of com-
petition, commanded, in 1917, 14/4-05^. per ton at the pit-
head, as against 4/9-32 for Transvaal coal. It is interesting to
note that the output per person at work in the Trans-
vaal coal-mine is 6-5 times that in the Cape Province mines,
a fact chiefly, if not entirely, due to a difference in the physical
conditions of the seams, such as thickness, hardness and inter-
mixture of shale or stone bands.

Coal has been found in the Prince Albert district. A sample
examined at the Imperial Institute consisted of a friable
anthracite containing : Mois., 2-05 ; Vol., 8-16 ; F.C., 88-56 ;
Ash, 1-23 ; S., 0-33 ; Cal., 8,277.

Natal

The chief coal-mining of Natal has for many years centred
in the Newcastle and Dundee districts [No. 2 on Map] of Klip
River county, in the north-western corner of the colony, but in
the last few years operations have extended eastward to the
Vryheid district, and even to the coastal coal-field of Somkele,
between St. Lucia Bay and the Umfolosi river. The Coal-
Measures of these areas may be regarded as the southern and
eastern extensions in more or less detached groups of the Coal-
Measures occupying extensive areas in the south-eastern
Transvaal and the north of the Orange Free State. The
Somkele field would appear to be the southern end of a narrow
and remarkable belt of Coal-Measures, which dips eastward
beneath the igneous rocks of the Lebombo Mountains, and
stretches due north for a distance of 350 miles, through Swazi-
land and Komati Poort to the Shingwidsi river in the north-
eastern Transvaal. It has been shown that the Coal-Measures
of Zululand are traceable right up to the border of the Vryheid
district, and that the relation of the Vryheid beds to the New-
castle and Dundee series is simple [92/p. 54].

Intrusive sheets of igneous rock are characteristic of the

Natal Coal-Measures, and have frequently induced an anthra-

citic nature in the coal. But the coal mined is the best in South

Africa. It is an excellent steam coal, and much of it yields

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

a good coke, but it is frequently high in sulphur. The following
are analyses of typical coals :

Vol.
matter.

Fixed
Carbon.

Colliery. Moisture. a g b3i. Ash ' Sul P hur '

Dundee . . 16-63 70'53 8-66 4-18

Navigation . 0-53 15-17 71-59 11-41 1-30

The coal of the Somkele field is distinctly anthracitic in
character.

Transvaal

The coal-measures occupy extensive, though not altogether
continuous, areas in the south and south-east of the Transvaal
[No. 3 on Map]. Coal-mining has been chiefly carried on at
Brakpan and Springs on the East Rand, Vereeniging on the
Vaal river, and in the Witbank-Middelburg district ; but mines
have also in recent years been opened up on Grootvlei, south-
east of Heidelberg, and at Breyton in the Ermelo-Carolina
district of the eastern Transvaal. Of these, the Witbank,
with the immediately-surrounding district, is at present the
largest producer.

Transvaal High-veld Coal-fields. In the Witbank-Middel-
burg coal-field the Coal-Measures are, at certain points, separ-
ated from the underlying Dwyka conglomerate, with its uneven
surface contour, by a considerable thickness of shales, sand-
stones, and redistributed conglomerate, while in the Brakpan
and Vereeniging fields they lie almost on the Dwyka.

Although the Coal-Measures in this field varied greatly in
thickness through the irregularity of the surface upon which
they were laid down, they were apparently continuous, but
denudation has reduced this thickness and even, in places,
entirely removed the measures, till, in certain cases, isolated
areas only remain. The following thicknesses of the coal-
measures above the glacial conglomerate have been observed
here and at other parts of the country :

Witbank-Middelburg, Maximum 450 ft.

Brakpan, East Rand

Springs, East Rand

East of Springs, on Wilge River

Viljoen's Drift, Vaal River, Orange Free State

Komati Poort, Lebombo belt

Swaziland, Lebombo belt

average 200 ft.
130
208
500
446
3,200
4,000

A marked feature of Coal-Measures of the Middelburg district,

AFRICA 73

and to a certain degree of the whole Transvaal, is the rapid
variation in the thickness and character of all the constituent
beds, particularly the lower beds, a condition due to the strong
currents, which laid down the generally coarse-grained sedi-
ments. It can, however, scarcely be doubted that intermittent
periods of quiescence occurred to admit either of the growth
in situ or of the drifting of vegetable matter to a thickness
which, in the case of the 20 ft. " Main Seam," may have
amounted to 250 ft. Though the coal-seams share to a
considerable extent in the variability of the measures, the
assumption of long periods of quiet and stability and a partial,
if not entire, "growth in situ " origin, is supported by the per-
sistence of a 12-inch seam of bright coal over a distance of
6 miles, and of an 1 8-inch layer of gas-coal at the base of the
" Main Seam " over a still greater distance.

But even in the quiescent periods, incursions of somewhat
muddy water must have occurred with considerable frequency
over the wide areas of accumulating vegetable matter. This is
evidenced by the layers of muddy matter, either as numerous
minute films, or as occasional bands of shale several inches thick
interlaminated with the otherwise pure coal. Mellor [99/p. 37],
in his admirable memoir on the Transvaal Coal-Measures, traces
the high percentage of ash in Transvaal coal to this cause.

The following seams, in descending order, are usually found
in the Witbank area, except where they have been removed by
denudation :

Thickness. In t 7 a e ing Character.

No. 5 Seam . . . . 6 ft. Formerly worked at

30 ft. Landau Colliery.

No. 4 Seam . . . . 24 ,, Upper half impure;

26 ,, lower half fair.

No. 3 Seam . . . i ,, Exceptionally bright.

No. 2 (" Main ") Seam . . 19 The chief seam.

No. i Seam . . . 6 " Frequent dirt bands.

The " Main Seam " is universally worked and in a typical
section consists from the bottom upwards of 15 in. of a some-
what cannel-like " gas-coal," 3^ ft. of bright " smithy coal,"
2 ft. of generally impure " holing-coal," often referred to
erroneously as a " splinty-coal," and 10 to 12 ft. of semi-bitu-

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

minous coal composed of alternating layers of more or less
bright and dull coal, in which the broader dull bands tend, in
certain areas, to become stony and render the upper part of the
seam unmarketable for general purposes. No. 4 seam is, in
its upper half, much interlaminated with shale bands, but the
lower half is of fair quality, and improves from east to west.

The Witbank coal maintains its quality for some distance
along the 50 miles of railway connecting its south-westward
with the Brakpan-Springs district of the East Rand, but an
increase in the percentage of ash gradually supervenes, till at
Brakpan the increase becomes pronounced. Otherwise, the
general character of the coal persists. At Belfast, 50 miles
east of Witbank, on the railway to Delagoa Bay, and almost on
the edge of the " High Veld " plateau, a 22-ft. seam of strong,
hard, but somewhat inferior coal has been worked to some
extent. This seam, 15 miles north of Belfast, is exposed with-
out a sign of deterioration, and is quarried for use by the farmers.
That a portion of the seam here was at one time on fire is
apparent from the baked and clinkered shales overlying it.
Coal of excellent quality occurs in the Ermelo-Carolina district.

Analyses of Transvaal Coals [99/p. 55] (High Veld)

Witbank District :

" Main Seam " average over

lower 12 ft.

T. and D.B. Colliery " Main
Seam " average .

E. Rand District :
Brakpan Colliery
Apex Colliery .
Gt. Eastern Colliery

Heidelberg District 't
Grootvlei Colliery

Vereeniging :
Central Colliery

2-22

1-05

4-59
5-46
3-12

Vol.
matter.

21-93

21-76
24-47
24-94

cSbol Ash. Sulphur.

57-19 I4-7 6 o-53
60-60 14-83 1-59

52-50 21-50 2-00

51*50 17-20 1-37
54-33 16-27 1-45

12-07
11-24

9-30
10-00

5-32 21-92 59-46 12-34 0-98 10-70

23-40 50-94 18-25 1-94 9-70

Lebombo Belt [No. 4 on Map]. It remains only to notice
briefly the long narrow belt of coal-measures already referred
to on the " Low Veld " immediately west of the Lebombo
Range, and the equivalent " High Veld " formation of the

AFRICA 75

Springbok Flats, near Pienaar's River station, on the Pretoria-
Pietersberg railway.

It is a reasonable assumption that these coal-measures, with
probably the overlying amygdaloidal basalt, stretched more
or less horizontally, with possibly unbroken continuity, from a
line at least as far west as the Springbok Flats to an unknown
distance eastward in that portion of Gondwanaland now sub-
merged beneath the Indian Ocean. Anderson [93] in Zulu-
land, Garrard [95/p. 75] in Swaziland, and Kynaston [97] in the
Transvaal have traced the continuity of the Lebombo coal-
belt, with its dip oceanward beneath the Lebombo Range.
Kynaston concludes that the coal-measures at Komati Poort
were laid down unconformably on the Older Granite and the
Barberton Beds, and that the relative position of these forma-
tions is not due to faulting.

In looking at the subject broadly, one is forced to the view
that the section, as now seen, from the eastern edge of the
" High Veld " plateau to the shores of the Indian Ocean, is
due to the great and widespread subsidence eastward, resulting
in the flexed, possibly, to some extent faulted, and generally
rugged slope, connecting the " Low Veld " with the " High
Veld," and that the emergence of the pre-Karroo formations
was a natural sequence of rapid denudation of the Karroo
formation, with the overlying basalt, from the sloping area, a
denudation from which the Lebombo coal-belt has been pro-
tected through its lower altitude and by the overlying basalt
and the capping of resist en t rhyolite.

Mellor [100] [99/p. 17], who mapped the coal-measures of the
Springbok Flats area, and Kynaston [98] have shown the
similarity of certain beds in this area to beds above the coal-
bearing beds at Komati Poort. And the interesting point is
made that these, the " Bush veld Sandstones " and the under-
lying reddish and purplish clays, are the equivalents of the
" Cave Sandstones " and the " Red Beds " of the Stormberg
Series of Cape Province. It may be noted that this relation
may be extended northward into Rhodesia, where the " Forest
Sandstones," with their Deinosaurian remains and capping of
basalt, are the equivalents of the Bushveld or Cave Sandstone
Series and overlying volcanic rocks.

76 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

In order to appreciate the position of the " Coal-Measures "
of Natal, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal in the
Karroo system, it is necessary to keep clearly in mind the
gradual thinning out of the various members of this system in
passing northward. Du Toit [94] points out that the Molteno
Beds, 2,000 ft. thick between Glen Grey and Elliott in Cape
Province, die out below Mont-aux-Sources, and thence, north-
ward, " are absent, and the succeeding Red Beds come to rest
directly upon the Upper Beaufort Beds" Further, the presence
of Glossopteris in the northern Coal-Measures is recorded by
Molengraaff and Draper. The correlation, therefore, of these
coals with those of Molteno is excluded.

Du Toit also traces the gradual thinning out of the Lower
Ecca Beds from the south of Natal northward, till at Ermelo,
in the eastern Transvaal and beyond, they disappear, and the
Middle Ecca Beds, with the included Coal-Measures, " come to
rest either upon the glacial (Dwyka) conglomerate or directly
upon one of the older rock systems." He thus definitely refers
these " Coal-Measures " to the Middle Ecca Beds, which, he
states, " correspond with a high degree of probability with the
extreme base of the Permian of Europe," e.g. with the lowest
portion of the " Rothliegende." It has, however, to be noted
that the Coal-Measures of the Lebombo belt include representa-
tives, both of the Ecca and the Beaufort Series.

Much of the coal at Komati Poort and in Swaziland is anthra-
citic ; at St. Lucia Bay most of it is distinctly so, a feature
which has hitherto impeded development of the field. Garrard
[95/p. 79] records the interesting fact that the seams in the
upper part of the series are in general anthracitic and in the
lower semi-bituminous, but advances no theory to account for
the difference. Kynaston was inclined to ascribe the anthracitic
character of the coal to the prevalence of intrusive sheets and
dykes, and to the pressure which must have been exerted by
the vast pile of the Volcanic Series.

The Lebombo Coal-Measures are intruded by many igneous
dykes and sheets or sills. In the absence of sufficient data it
is impossible to determine what influence, whether purely local
or widespread, these intrusions had in rendering the upper coals
anthracitic, while the lower coals remained little, if at all,

-.2

N 00 O O M O

^- IT) ^O ^ I O

* 2k

6 M ONOO 6 1 CO

M t>> M

> & g

O O ^O M *O

M .3d

O3 c N

COO N C^ O ' w

Os_2 >,

M 3

6 6 M M 6 I

00 " HI

2.2 >,

co in M o M o

vooo M O f> 1 CO

O O cO O^ O ^ HI

"!;

oo in ooo >o o

* *s

6 CO M 00 6 ' N

H II ff.

10 o O w * O cr\

00 00 NO "O Tf "O
M O\ N iO 6 w ^t-

CO M

iii ijj

O O O M-O O O

N ONCO in o 10 in

* i* s-

co u-> M oo o M co

00 M

O O ^O O N CO

O M M O O M O

O O O O 00 00 00
iO Tj- M O ^ r^ N

> i

O 1-1 N O O HI O^
O co

M ^

O O O O O t^ &

o o t> t>-oo in <s

> fa M

O M >. O O HI M
t^ N M

O O O T- O CO N
O C^O 00 COO N

> <J

O ^" O^ "^" M M M

ON M

& ' }Pi

O O ON M 4)
O^OO 00 O 1 1

^ g d ^, _ ^

co t^ ON O 00 O >n

N 00 N O Tf- ^t-00

a Il3|1*P*g

N O CO N O M M

a-|o .j.j^

rn M rf T}- t~>-O I

s 5" s^S o 2 ^

in 6 M N 6 M 1

o o o o o^ M
co N in in t^ -^- i

M ^ rt

6 ob f~- co 6 H I

MOM

.1 rt .

! fe

lSlIif

O o .5 w 3 QL, >
g J> fe <J C/) C/l W

S B 1

? I |

"W M

O o <M

P< O

O W 41

M c3 ^

s-2^

<D > w
M O rt

O o o

5 1Z5

7 8

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

affected. As regards static pressure, this would be expected
to affect the lower more than the upper seams.

In this connection it appears to the writer that another
possible factor may be noted. A great thickness of molten
matter, amounting at Komati Poort to 6,000 ft., exclusive of
the enormous thickness of rhyolite, has first and last flowed
over the surface of the Coal-Measures, with its associated coal-
seams, and it is difficult to imagine that a considerable amount
of heat was not thereby imparted to these Coal-Measures,
possibly sufficient to devolatilize or drive off a portion of the vola-
tile matter from the upper coals.

The table on page 77 indicates the graduation in character
of the Lebombo coals according to their depth in the series.

Coal Production in the Union of South Africa

1917.

1918.

Tons sold
(2,000 lb.).

Value per
ton at
pit's mouth

Tons sold
(2,000 lb.).

Value per
ton at
pit's mouth

s. d.

S. d.

Cape Province ....
Natal
Orange Free State .
Transvaal ....

8,300
2,890,296

843.095
6,641,229

14 4-05
10 1-76
5 1-86
4 9-32

4.654
2,607,133
826,577
6,438,961

15 3-89
10 5-10
5 6-70
5 0-84

Total

10,382,920

9.877,323

The value of the coal at the " pit's mouth " for the five
years ending 1917 was, after India, the lowest of any country,
and almost exactly half that of the United Kingdom. The
comparative value per ton of 2,24olb. in various countries (1915)
is shown in the appended list. The present price of coal is as
a result of the war greatly in excess of these figures :

France

United Kingdom
Germany .
Australia .

5. d.

15 7

ii 6

10 5

7 5

Japan
U.S.A.
S. Africa
India

*. d.

6 7

6 i

5 10

4 8

Although the coal has been and must always remain of vital
importance to the gold-mining industry, its very abundance

AFRICA 79

has hitherto induced an attitude of indifference as to the ques-
tion of possible coal reserves. Consequently, the limits, thick-
ness and variations in quality of the workable seams are still
only partially known, although these coal-fields present less
difficulty in this respect than almost any others of like extent.
The Coal Reserves, as roughly estimated, are given in the
Annual Report for 1911, Part III, Geol. Surv., S. Africa, and
are as follow :

Square miles. Tons.

Transvaal . . 5,000, average thickness 6 ft. 36,000,000,000

Natal . . . 1,000, 7 ,, 9,400,000,000

Zululand . . 1,250, 4 ,, 6,000,000,000

Orange Free State ^ Impossible to make even a rough ~\
Cape Province . estimate, but the total resources
Basutoland . . [ will probably be not less than 1,000 V 4,800,000,000
Swaziland . . sq. miles, with an average thickness
of 4 ft. J

Total . 55,200,000,000

The present methods of exploitation admit of the utilization
of about 55 per cent, of the total coal available. The quality
of the coal is extremely variable. The percentage of ash varies
from 6 per cent, to 30 per cent., but, in most of the coal actually
used, the variation is from 10 to 15 per cent.

If the estimate of the percentage of coal recovered, viz. 55
per cent, only, be correct, methods will doubtless in time be
formulated to lessen the lamentable waste, as has been done by
some of the progressive mining men of India. Coal-mining in
Sumatra is an excellent example of what can be done in this
direction.

SOUTHERN NIGERIA

From 1903 to 1913 a Mineral Survey, conducted in associa-
tion with the Imperial Institute, was made in Southern Nigeria
[105]. Large deposits of lignite or brown coal were found on
both sides of the river Niger, near Asaba (Bull. Imp. Ins.,
10, 1912, p. 435). Later, in 1909, the large coal-field named
the Udi-Okwoga after the native villages at its known southern
and northern limits was discovered. The area of this coal-
field, so far as known, is about 1,800 sq. miles, and the best-
known part is now connected by railway with Port Harcourt.
The coal occurs in Cretaceous beds, occupying a plateau which

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

in the north rises to 2,000 ft. and has a gradual slope to the
west. The eastern escarpment exhibits outcrops of coal.

Udi coal is described as sub-bituminous, and is dull-black in
appearance. It ignites readily, burns with a bright, steady
flame, with little smoke, and without caking or decrepitation :

Analysis (Imperial Institute)

Udi, 5 ft
Okwoga,

. seam
3 ft. ii in. seam

Moisture.

Vol.

F.C.

Ash.

Calories.

5-62
11-50

38-18
34-96

48-4I
39-49

7'79
14-05

0-76
o-73

6,969
5,494

In the vicinity of Udi, 4 seams reach a thickness of over
2 ft. Further north a seam 5 ft. thick is exposed on the Azata
river. In the Okwoga district similar seams are found of 'a
quality slightly lower in calorific value on the whole.

Udi colliery [104], 151 miles north of Port Harcourt, began
operations in 1915, and produced in 1918 148,214 tons.
The Iva Colliery, now being developed, promises to be the
most important producer.

Details regarding the distribution and analysis of the coal
of this field will be found in the Imperial Institute Bulletin [104]
and Reports on the Mineral Survey [105].

NORTH AMERICA
CANADA

In Canada, a country of vast area and with large coal
deposits only slightly developed, accurate knowledge of the
total coal resources must be necessarily very incomplete, but
recent investigations of a detailed character have thrown
much light on the subject. The most recent important pub-
lications are An Investigation of the Coals of Canada, with Refer-
ence to their Economic Qualities, 1912, by J. B. Porter, R. J.
Durley, and others [116] [m], and The Coal Fields and Coal
Resources of Canada [2], contributed by D. B. Bowling to the
Coal Resources of the World, 1913. The details in the following
pages are drawn chiefly from these publications, and to some
extent from F. W. Gray's Coal Fields of Eastern Canada [113].

CANADA

Canada's Principal Coal-fields

These fields are grouped roughly, with their reserves, in
Table I below, into four great divisions, the first three of which
are at present of economic importance. Their coal contents
have been estimated on the basis of coal already explored with
some measure of accuracy [112].

Table I

(1) The Atlantic Provinces. Nova Scotia and New Bruns-
wick :

Tons.
Bituminous Coal . . . . 3,500,000,000

(2) The Central Plains and the Eastern Rocky Mountains :
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia :

Anthracite
Bituminous coal .
Sub-bituminous and lignite

Tons.

400,000,000

30,000,000,000

100,000,000,000

(3) The Pacific Coast and the Western Mountains :
British Columbia and the Yukon :

Tons.

Anthracite ..... 61,000,000

Bituminous ..... 40,000,000,000

Lignite ...... 500,000,000

Tons.
490,000,000

(4) Northern Canada Mackenzie Basin :

Lignite only .....

The foregoing table indicates broadly the distribution and
character of the coal.

Table II gives the geographical positions and geological
ages of the coal-fields.

Table II

Provinces and Coal-fields.
Nova Scotia :
Sydney field .
Inverness field
Picton field .
Cumberland field .

New Brunswick :
Grand Lake field .

Manitoba :

Turtle Mountain field

Centre of Field,
latitude. I^ongitude.

46 10'

45 35'
45 40'

60 10'
61 30'
62 35'

64 20'

46 05'

66 oo'

49 oo'

100 oo'

Geological Age.
Carboniferous

Carboniferous

Tertiary

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Table II (contd.)

Provinces and Coal-fields.
Saskatchewan :

Estevan or Souris field

Alberta :

Belly River field .
Frank-Blairmore field
Cascade field
Edmonton field

British Columbia :
Crow's-nest field
Nicola Valley field
Telkwa Valley field
Nanaimo field, V.I.
Comox field, V.I. .
Suquash field
Graham Island, Q.C.I.

Yukon Territory :
Tantalus field
Yukon River field

Northern-Mackenzie Basin
Northern Islands :

Centre of Field,
latitude. longitude.

49" 05'

49 40'
49 35'
5i 12'
53 50'

49 30'
50 20'

54 30'
49 10'
50 oo'
50 37'
53 10'

62 10'
64 30'

103 oo

112 40
H4 2 5 '
H5 30'
"3 30'

120 50'

127 10'

123 55'
125 oo'
127 15'
132 oo'

136 10'
140 oo'

Geological Age.
Cretaceous

Cretaceous

Jura-Cretaceous
Tertiary

Tertiary
Carboniferous

Age of Coal Deposits

Broadly speaking, the coals of the east, in the Atlantic pro-
vinces, are of Carboniferous age, and those of the Central
districts and the Pacific Coast are of Cretaceous age. Coal
of lower Tertiary age is found in Alberta and Saskatchewan,
and Tertiary lignite and sub-bituminous coals, in small areas,
occur in British Columbia, Yukon and the Northern Islands.
Cannel coal of reputed Lower Carboniferous or Devonian age
is found in the Northern Islands, and thin, unimportant coal-
seams occur beneath the Carboniferous limestone in Nova
Scotia.

Distribution

Important fields of excellent bituminous coal occur on the
Atlantic and Pacific seaboards, and are extensively mined and
used for general purposes, but the great reserves of bituminous
and sub-bituminous coals in Canada are in the interior fields of
Alberta and British Columbia, where, particularly in Alberta,
coals of a wide range of character are found, from lignite,
occurring chiefly on the plains, to bituminous coal and anthra-
cite in the main uplift of the Rocky Mountains.

CANADA

Coal Resources of Canada
Table III (after D. B. Bowling [2/p. 441])

Group I
Including seams of i ft. or over, to a depth of 4,000 ft.

Actual Reserve (Calculation based on

Probable Reserves (Approximate

actual thickness and extent).

estimate).

District.

Area
Square
miles.

Class of
coal.*

Metric tons.

Area
Square
miles.

Class of
coal.*

Metric tons.

Nova Scotia .

I74'3I

B 2

2,137,736,000

273-5

B 2

4,871,817,000

50,415,000

20,000,000

New Brunswick

I2I'O

B 2

151,000,000

Ontario

IO'O

D 2

25,000,000

Manitoba

48-0

160,000,000

Saskatchewan

306-0

2,412,000,000

13,100-0

D 2

57,400,000,000

{D 2

26,450,000,000

382,500,000,000

464,821,000,000

Alberta

25,300-0

B 3
B 2 Bi

1,197,000,000
2,026,800,000

56,375-0

B 3
B 2 Bi

139,161,000,000
43,022,600,000

A 2

669,000,000

100,000,000

fA 2 B 2

23,653,242,000 \

rA 2 B 2

40,807,700,000

British Columbia .

439'0

\ B 3

118,000,000 V

5,595-0

J B 3

2,300,000,000

l - D 2

60,000,000 )

1 DiD 2

5,136,000,000

1,800,000,000

Yukon .

2,840-0

|A 2 B 3
I DiDa

250,000,000
4,690,000,000

North-West

Territories .

300-0

4,800,000,000

Northern Islands .

6,000-0

|B 2 B 3

} 6,000,000,000

Total

26,219-31

414,804,193,000 t

84,662-5 J

801,966,117,000

See pag

t In this total 20,000,000 has been deducted for the amount of coal of all classes already
extracted in Alberta.

I This total does not agree with the figure given by Dowling.

Group II

Including seams of 2 ft. and over, at depths between 4,000
and 6,000 ft.

Probable Reserves

(Approximate estimate).

District.

Area

Class

Square

Metric Tons.

miles.

coal.

Nova Scotia (marine areas, 3 to 5 mile limit)

2 ,639,OOO,OOO

Alberta

203

12,700,000,000

-D 2

Totals

287

17,499,000,000

8 4

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Totals by Provinces

Groups I and II

Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Ontario
Manitoba .
Saskatchewan .
Alberta .
British Columbia
Yukon .
North-west Territories
Northern Islands

Metric tons.

9,718,968,000

151,000,000

25,000,000

160,000,000

59,812,000,000

1,072,627,000,000

76,034,942,000

4,940,000,000

4,800,000,000

6,000,000,000

1,234,269,310,000

Production, Exports, Imports, and Consumption of Coal [109]

Nova Scotia, owing to its favourable geographical position,
has been the largest producer till 1918, when Alberta slightly
exceeded it, and has shown little variation in output since
1910. During the last three years the output from British
Columbia has remained stationary, while from the other pro-
vinces, except Yukon, it has increased. Recent outputs are
as under 1 :

Table IV

Production *

15-

16.

Province.

Production,
Tons
(2,000 lb.).

Value,
Dollars.

Production,
Tons
(2,000 lb).

Value,
Dollars.

Production,
Tons
(2,000 lb.).

Value,
Dollars.

Nova Scotia .
New Brunswick
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon Territory

7,463,370
127,391
240,107
3,360,818
2,065,613
9,724

16,659,308
309,612
365,246
8,283,079
6,455,041
38,896

6,912,140
143,540
281,300

4,559,054
2,584,061
3,300

18,514,662
386,016
441,836
n,386,577
8,075,190
13,200

6,327,091
189,095
355,445
4,736,368
2,433,888
4,872

19,410,737
708,010
662,451
14,153,685
8,235,7ic
29,232

Totals

13,267,023

32,111,182

14,483,395

38,817,481

14,046,759

43,199,831

Table V
The 1917 production comprised :

Anthracite (from Bankhead, Alberta)

Bituminous coal

Lignite .....

Tons (2,000 lb.).

108,225

11,154,251

2,784,283

14,046,759

1 In 1918, the total production amounted to 14,977,926 short tons, of
value $55,192,896 (Ann. Kept. Min. Prod. Can., 1918).

CANADA

Table VI

Exports, Imports and Consumption

1916.

19171

Tons (2,000 Ib.)

Value, Dollars.

Tons (2,000 Ib.)

Value, Dollars.

Production
Imports

Exports
Re-exports

Consumption

14,483,395
17,580,603

38,817,481
38,289,666

14,046,759
20,857,460

43,199,831
70,562,357

32,063,998

2,135,359
62,783

77,107,147
7, 99,387

34,904,219
1,733,156
47.328

113,766,188
7,387,192

29,865,856

70,007,760

33,123,735

IIO,8l8,8lI

Nova Scotia

The Carboniferous rocks of Eastern Canada are in part
the northward continuation of the Appalachian Mountains, and
stretch from Fredericton in New Brunswick in broken outline
through the north of the mainland of Nova Scotia into Cape
Breton Island, where they dip under the sea and reappear
across Cabot Strait in Newfoundland [ii3/p. i] [121]. As
already mentioned, the coal deposits of New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia are of Carboniferous age.

The workable coals of Nova Scotia are found above the
Carboniferous limestone in the subdivision termed the " Pro-
ductive Coal-Measures. " All the coal is bituminous in quality,
and the analysis varies within comparatively narrow limits.

The reserves of Nova Scotia are small compared with those
of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, but the excel-
lent quality of the coal, shipping facilities, and nearness to
populous centres have enabled the mining companies to main-
tain a steady output. An import tariff of 53 cents per ton
(2,000 Ib.) on bituminous round coal and 14 cents on slack coal
protects Nova Scotian coal against undue competition in the
Montreal market from the cheaply-mined and water-borne
United States coal. Anthracite is admitted duty free. But in
general, the return on capital invested in the collieries of Nova
Scotia has been small.

86 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

There are five distinct coal-fields, known as the Sydney,
Inverness and Richmond on Cape Breton Island, Pictou and
Cumberland on the mainland of Nova Scotia. Mining in the
Richmond field has, on account of the uncertain occurrence of
the seams and the inferior quality of the coal, been abandoned.

EAST:RN CANADA

Cape Breton Island contains the most important coal-fields of
Eastern Canada.

Sydney Coal-field [No. i on Map]. This field, the most im-
portant of eastern Canada, is situated with the deep-water
harbour of Sydney as its central point, in the north-east corner
of Cape Breton county, and extends slightly into Victoria

CANADA 87

county. It consists of a series of parallel basins resulting
from folding, of which the axes dip seawards at angles of from
5 to 12. The land area is from 200 to 250 sq. miles in extent,
with a length of 32 miles from N.W. to S.E. and a maximum
width of 7 miles, and, as suggested by Richard Brown, is prob-
ably a segment on the southern edge of an immense submarine
basin extending towards Newfoundland.

The structure and quality of the seams are subject to con-
siderable change even in one basin. This, with the occasional
thickening and thinning of the intervening strata, renders
correlation of seams from basin to basin uncertain. There
are from 6 to 9 workable seams from 3 to 9 ft. thick, and of
an aggregate thickness of 40 to 50 ft. With the exhaustion of
the thicker seams on the land area, thinner seams are being
attacked and submarine mining is becoming general. Working
has been extended under the sea to distances of 3 miles from
the shore, and will probably be limited in this direction only
by economic considerations.

Inverness Coal-field [No. 2 on Map]. Inverness Coal-field,
fringing the western coast of Cape Breton Island, includes four
distinct basins known as Port Hood, Mabou, Inverness and
Chimney Corner. The seams, as exposed on the landward
area, dip westward, frequently at high angles, and the colliery
workings are largely beneath the waters of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence.

At Port Hood, one seam, 6 to 8 ft. thick, is being worked,
and another, 360 ft. higher and 6 ft. thick, is said to occur.
The seam dips at 21 beneath the sea, and flattens to 12 at the
bottom of the dip incline, which is 2,000 ft. from the outcrop.

In the Mabou basin six seams, from 3 to 15 ft. thick, occur,
and possibly aggregate 40 ft. of coal. The two upper seams,
7 and 8 ft. thick, were worked, but operations are stated to
have ceased in 1908 [ii7/p. 42].

At Inverness, Charles Robb's section, given by the Geological
Survey, 1873-4, shows seams of 3 ft., 5 ft. (reported) , 7 ft., 4 J ft.,
3 ft., and 3 ft. 9 inches. H. Y. Hind in 1873 also reported a
somewhat similar section. The dip is from 15 to 20, with
steeper grades in places. In 1909 Mabou Mine, and in 1911
Port Hood Mine, were flooded by inbursts of water from the
7

88 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

sea. The 7-ft. seam is being worked, and produces annually
about 250,000 tons, which is sent by rail to Port Hastings,
56 miles distant, and there shipped.

At Chimney Corner the seams measure 3 ft., 5 ft., and 3 ft.
6 in. They occur in a synclinal trough, and their workable
extension seaward probably does not exceed i mile.

Pictou Coal-field [No. 3 on Map]. The Pictou field is situ-
ated in the centre of Pictou county, south of the town of New
Glasgow. Its known workable extent is comprised within an
area n miles long by 2j miles wide. Coal is said to have been
first discovered near Stellarton in 1798, and since then has been
progressively mined. The structure of the field is very com-
plicated, and still only partially understood. For descriptive
purposes the field is usually divided into the three main divi-
sions of Westfield, Albion, and Vale.

Albion, or Stellarton, the central and most important divi-
sion, is separated from Westville on the west by the McCulloch
fault, variously estimated at from 1,600 to 2,600 ft., but regard-
ing which remarkably little is definitely known, and from the
Vale division on the east by a disturbed and apparently barren
area. It is remarkable for the thickness of some of its seams.
In a section quoted by F. W. Gray [ii-3/p. 26] 16 seams are
shown, ranging in thickness from 2 ft. 8 in. to 34 ft. 7 in., and
aggregating 188 ft. in 2,781 ft. of strata. Five of the seams
exceed 20 ft. in thickness. But the thickness of the individual
seams and the intervening strata vary greatly and rapidly, a
feature rendering a correlation of the seams with those in the
divisions to the east and west most uncertain. The dip of the
strata is from 15 to 30 to the north.

In the Westville division there are four known seams, which,
in descending order, are 17 ft., 12 ft., 6 ft., and 8 ft. thick. The
average dip is 16 to the north-east.

The measures in the Vale division occur as a syncline, with
a north-easterly axis and a cross width of 3 miles. It contains
six seams of 3 ft., 3 ft., 3 ft. 9 in., 6 ft., 8 ft., and 2 ft., but here
also the thickness varies considerably. The dip is from
horizontal to 25. This series is believed to be on a horizon
above the Albion series, and to be separated from the latter
by i, 600 ft. of strata.

CANADA 89

Two companies only operate in the Pictou field, namely,

. the Acadia Coal Co. in the Albion division, and the International

^Coal Mining Co. in Westville, the respective outputs being

about 400,000 and 150,000 tons per annum. Production in

both areas has been seriously affected by underground fires.

For economic reasons the former company closed down their

collieries in the Westville and Vale divisions.

Cumberland Coal-field [No. 4 on Map]. This field is situated
in the west of Nova Scotia on the western branch of the Bay of
Fundy. In addition to the exposed Coal-Measures from which
coal has for long been won, concealed Coal-Measures are sup-
posed to exist beneath younger formations, and a borehole at
Halfway River lake, in which a seam of 9 ft. was passed through
at a depth of 2,350 ft., supports this idea. Faults are numerous,
and one, the Athol fault, separates the two producing areas,
Joggins to the north and Springhill to the south-east.

The Coal-Measures of the Joggins area outcrop in a fairly
regular east and west line, 22 miles long, and dip from 19 to
50 to the south. They are supposed to be the northern limb
of a synclinal basin, of which the contorted Springhill measures
form the south-eastern edge; The latter measures are ex-
posed for a length of about 7 miles, and dip at 25 to 30, even
up to 75 to the north-west.

The seams of the Joggins belt in general are thin, or split up
by bands of shale, as at Maccan, and range from 2 to 7 ft. in
thickness ; those of Springhill have considerable thickness,
one being 13 ft. and two each n ft. thick. Springhill seams are,
like those of Pictou, subject to goaf fires, and give off firedamp
freely.

It may be noted that the figures given in the table on the
next page by no means represent the best analysis of Nova
Scotia coals. They may be taken as a very moderately stated
average, and as conservative figures [ii-3/p. 38].

A matter claiming serious attention, and one coming more
and more to the front in coal-mining everywhere, is hydraulic
sand-filling or " flushing " of the goaf. The adoption of this
system seems peculiarly desirable in certain parts of this pro-
vince on account of the exceptional thickness of some of the
seams, the extent to which mining beneath the sea is necessary,

9 o

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Table of Average Analyses of Coal Samples taken from Collieries
operating in the several Coal-fields of the Maritime Provinces

Sydney,
Cape
Breton.

Inverness
Co., Cape
Breton.

Pictou
Co.,

Springhill,
Cumber-
land Co.

Joggins,
Cumber-
land Co.

Gran
Lake, 1
Brunsw

Number of seam samples

included in average

Moisture in coal :

Per cent.

Per ce

Total Moisture .

3'7

7-0

2-4

2-6

2-9

J> i3

Moisture left after

drying .

2-6

5'3

1-7

2-1

2-2

0-09

Proximate analysis of dry

coal :

Fixed carbon

56-3

49-0

57'5

59-o

46-4

53'4

Volatile matter .

36-4

38-5

29-6

33-o

37-8

32-2

Ash .

7'3

12-5

12-9

8-0

15-8

14-4

Ulimate analysis of dry

coal :

Carbon

75-8

65-4

73-o

76-6

64-8

70-3

Hydrogen

5-i

4'5

4'9

4*4

4'6

Sulphur

2-9

6-9

I'2

i'5

6-2

5'8

Nitrogen

1-4

0-9

1-9

1-6

1-2

0-6

Oxygen

7'5

9-8

6-5

7'4

7-6

4'3

Calorific value in British

Thermal units :

13,660

11,960

12,970

13.520

11,869

12,89

and the liability in certain seams to underground fires. Safety
to life and property and marked economy of the coal reserves
would certainly Se promoted.

New Brunswick

In the Province of New Brunswick large areas are occupied
by rocks of Carboniferous age, but these consist chiefly of the
lowest and barren strata, while a comparatively small area
only is covered by the coal-bearing Millstone Grit. The
" Productive Coal-Measures," which in Nova Scotia overlie
the Millstone Grit, are here entirely absent.

Patches of thin coal are found in many places, but the only
valuable occurrence is in the Grand Lake district of Queen's
County [No. 5 on Map]. The extent of this area is 112 sq.
miles, the measures are nearly horizontal, and the coal occurs
at shallow depths. The deepest shafts do not exceed 50 ft.,

CANADA 91

and the coal at times is won by stripping the overburden. There
are two seams of 20 inches and 10 inches, of which the upper
only is worked except where, as at Minto, the two come together
and form a 30-in. seam.

Analysis of Coal

Grand Lake Field

Moisture.
Per cent.

Volatile
matter.
Per cent.

Fired
carbon.
Per cent.

Ash.
Per cent.

Sulphur.
Per cent.

Calories.

King's Mine, Minto

0-9

32-2

53'4

14-4

5-8

7,160

(washed) .

34-o

56-6

9'4

4'9

7,680

The output has increased from 55,000 tons in 1910 to 268,212
tons (2,000 Ibs.) in 1918.

The coal resources of the Grand Lake field are estimated
by the Geological Survey at 138,000,000 tons, which, with
13,000,000 tons in the Beersville and Dunsinane areas, give a
total of 150 million tons for the province.

Ontario

In the northern part of this province, on the Moose River,
south of James Bay, beds of low-grade lignite occur in clays
and sands of the glacial age. This lignite could be easily won,
but from its remote position is not at present of economic
importance [106].

The coals of the western half of Canada belong chiefly to the
Cretaceous and its upward continuation, the transition beds
of the Laramie formation. Tertiary and Jurassic coals occur
to a limited extent.

Cretaceous strata, with undenuded remnants of Tertiary
beds, first appear to the west of Winnipeg and extend to the
Rocky Mountains, but coal deposits are few and comparatively
unimportant till Alberta is reached.

The coals of this territory change through various grades
from lignite in the east to anthracite in the west. East of

92 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the H3th meridian, lignites, when thoroughly air-dried, have
about 12 per cent, of moisture, whilst west of that line many,
if not most, of the coals are less hydrous, and merge, in some
instances, into bituminous coal indistinguishable from coal
of Carboniferous age. But hydrous lignites and fuel of all
intermediate stages also occur west of the line indicated (W.
Dawson). In the mountain region the coal is mostly bitu-
minous, and in the disturbed belt of the eastern foothills the
fuels with 1-6 to 6-0 per cent, of moisture may rank as true
coals. In the Cascade basin, in the mountains, where pressure
from the west has overtilted the strata, anthracite of good
quality has resulted.

Manitoba

Lignite is found in the south of this province on Turtle
Mountain [No. 6 on Map], the southern half of which is in
North Dakota and the northern half, of 48 sq. miles, lies in
Manitoba. The formation is probably lower Tertiary, and
contains thin seams of lignite which, Bowling states, appear
to be " deposits which are limited in extent, though repeated
over large areas." The lignite, though rather high in moisture
and disintegrating on drying, is useful for local purposes. The
production is very limited.

Saskatchewan

In this province two coal-bearing formations occur, namely :

(1) Tertiary, in the extreme south of the Souris river, in the
Estevan district, Wood Mountain and Missouri coteau.

(2) Cretaceous (Middle), in the Belly river division, extend-
ing eastward from the Saskatchewan- Alberta boundary to the
vicinity of Swift Current.

Of these the Tertiary is the more important.

Souris Coal-field (Lower Tertiary) [No. 7 on Map]. The bulk
of the coal-mining of Saskatchewan has been developed around
Estevan, where seams of Tertiary lignite outcrop in the natural
sections of the Souris valley. Outside of this mining area the
Coal-Measures are mostly hidden beneath a heavy covering of
boulder-clay, and little is known of their possibilities. The

CANADA

area covered by these measures is estimated at 4,000 sq. miles.
Dowling [ii7/p. 66] divides the coal formation of Estevan

140 190 120 lit

WESTERN CANADA

120

into the upper, the middle, and the lower horizons, in the last
of which an 8-ft. seam produces most of the coal won. Towards

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the west this seam splits up into several small seams, but to the
north-east it is reported to thicken to 15 ft.

North of the Estevan field, and in the hills to the west of the
Souris river, coal is reported at various places in seams from
I ft. to 18 ft. thick.

Lignites of Souris River Coal-field

Moisture.

Volatile
matter.!

Fixed
carbon. J

Ash.:

Sulphur.

Calories.

Western Dominions

Collieries, Tay-

lorton

18-0*

49-0

42-9

8-i

0-6

5.94

Eureka Coal and

Brick Co., Es-

tevan

18-2 f

40 '0

43-2

16-8

o-5

5>36o

* Before air-drying, 28-6.
f Before air-drying, 30-9.

Calculated on water-free basis.

Several mines operate in this district, and produce 95 J per
cent, of the total in Saskatchewan, which, in 1918, amounted
to 346,847 short tons.

Belly River Coal-field (Middle Cretaceous) [No. 8 on Map].
The Coal-Measures of this field, which lies in the west of the
province, extend westward into Alberta. Coal-seams are few
in this horizon, and are of importance chiefly on account of
their wide distribution. A seam at the top of the formation,
which is generally persistent in Alberta, occurs here only in
isolated patches, and is 4 ft. thick on the Saskatchewan river,
while further north it is found up to 8 ft. thick.

Eastward, the formation, according to Dowling, probably
thins out beneath the overlying marine beds ; southward it
is overlain by upper Cretaceous shales, as proved at Maple
Creek, where a borehole located the 4-ft. seam at a depth of
196 ft. and a 7~ft. seam 100 ft. lower. North of the Saskatche-
wan river the seams are sporadic ; to the south they are more
uniform, and probably more extensive.

The following table gives analyses of different lignites of the
Belly River formation :

locality. Moisture. Volatile. ^jj^i Ash.

Kerrobert
Unity .
Brock ,

21-32
16-29
25-70

34-00
32-19
26-95

Fixed
Carbon.

39-93
38-64

28-42

4'75
12-88
18-93

CANADA 95

Alberta

Bowling has estimated that the " actual " and " prob-
able " reserves of coal in Alberta aggregate 1,059,927 million
tons, or 87 per cent, of the total reserves in Canada.

The coal is Cretaceous, and occurs in three distinct horizons,
which, in descending order, are known as :

(1) Edmonton and part of Paskapoo formation, at top of
Cretaceous Lignite.

(2) Belly River formation, in middle of Cretaceous. Lignite.

(3) Kootenay formation, at base of Cretaceous.

The Paskapoo Series overlie the Edmonton Series over a
great part of Alberta, and, in their lower beds, contain in certain
areas small seams of coal, which supply local requirements,
but are of little importance in comparison with the Edmonton
seams.

Edmonton Formation [No. 9 on Map]. The Paskapoo and
upper Edmonton Series occupy an area of 24,779 sq. miles, of
which 22,475 sq. miles are estimated to be coal-bearing. Out-
side of this area an additional 29,930 sq. miles are underlain by a
group of thinner seams in the Edmonton Series, occurring about
from 500 to 600 ft. below the thick seam of the upper Edmon-
ton beds. The total area, therefore, underlain by available
coal of this formation is 52,405 sq. miles [2/p. 476]. The
estimated " actual " coal reserves are 383,697 million tons
(metric), and "probable" coal reserves 417,261 million tons
(metric), aggregating 800,958 million tons, of which 789,600
million tons are lignitic or sub-bituminous and 11,358 million
tons are low-carbon bituminous (Class B 8 ).

The Edmonton formation occurs as a synclinal basin,
extending in Canada from latitude 49N. to about 55 30' N.
The axis of the syncline is east of and parallel with the Rocky
Mountains, from which the western limb dips rather steeply
to the east, while the eastern limb dips gently to the west.
Toward the north the measures flatten, the trough widens,
and the coal-seams thicken. Tertiary sandstones overlie the
central portion trough.

The seams are found in an upper horizon at the top of the

96 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

formation, and in a lower horizon at from 500 to 600 ft. below the
upper. In the upper horizon a group of seams come together
in places to form the " Big Seam." South of Bow the total
thickness of coal is 5 ft., but it thickens to the north-west, and
at Calgary is 13 ft. in a single seam at a depth of 1,800 ft.
beneath Tertiary strata. West of Edmonton it is 25 ft. thick,
and at the Grand Trunk Pacific crossing of the Pembina river
it splits into at least two lo-ft. seams. The coals of the lower
horizon are mined at Edmonton, Tofield and other places.

The change in the upper horizon from lignite in the extreme
north-eastern area to coking coal in the foothills is shown in
the following analyses quoted by Dowling :

Moist. Vol. F.C. Ash.

Head of Pembina River (west of axis) . 4-32 33-43 56-47 5-14
Saskatchewan River (east of axis) . n-88 35-31 47-06 5-08

Coal from Strathcona Mine, Edmonton (air-dried)

Moist. Vol. F.C. Ash. Calories. Fuel ratio. C.H. ratio.

18-2 33-6 38-9 9-3 4,877 1-15 9-0

Loss on air-drying, 5-8 per cent. [no].

Belly River Formation [No. 8 on Map]. This formation ex-
tends westward from Saskatchewan into eastern Alberta, in
which 16,000 sq. miles are underlain by it. It stretches in
Canada from the international boundary to latitude 53 N., a
length of about 250 miles. Sufficient data are not available
from which to estimate even approximately the amount of coal
contained in this area, but the available coal must be enormous.
In the northern part of the area the seams appear to be thin.
Near Medicine Hat two 5 -ft. seams outcrop in the river banks ;
going westward, the coal improves in quality at Taber, and
still more at Lethbridge. The hydrous character of the coal
diminishes as the mountains are approached, as indicated in
the following analysis [2/p. 479] :

locality. Thickness. Moisture. Vol. F.C. Ash.

ft. In.

Redcliff, near Medicine Hat . 5 o 20-54 33'26 41-15 5'5

Ten miles west of Medicine Hat 4 o 16-82 31-90 43-98 7-30

McPhee mine . . . 27 11-35 29-98 51-63 7-04

Taber mine . . . . 33 7-21 39-18 46-36 7-22

Gait Collieries, Lethbridge , 5 6 4-73 34*6i 50-43 9' 8 9

CANADA

But samples fresh from Taber mine and Gait Collieries gave
the following results [n8/p. 84] :

Moisture.

Calculated as Water-free.

Mine.

Air-dried.

Volatile.

F.C.

Ash.

Calories.

Taber Mine .
Gait Collieries

13-0

8-4

II-7
7'9

36-0
37'5

49'9
5i-5

14-1
II'O

6,130
6,510

The Belly River coals have been proved beneath the Edmon-
ton formation at :

Tofield

Edmonton

Calgary

depth 1,050 ft.

1,400 ,,

2,562 ,,

2,656 ,,

,, 2,875

coal 4
6
., 5

7
4

ft.

Kootenay Formation [No. 10 on Map]. This formation is
hidden beneath the younger members of the Cretaceous system
in the undisturbed areas east of the Rocky Mountains, and is
only exposed in the denuded domes of the anticlines in the
foothills and in the upheaved strata of these mountains where
intense erosion has removed the overlying measures. The
formation in the mountain region occurs in long strips of up-
lifted fault blocks, dipping in general to the west in monoclinal
fashion, but synclinal troughs are also found. It occurs both
in the outer ranges and in the foothills from near the inter-
national boundary to the Athabaska river, beyond which most
of the coal-bearing areas are in the foothills. The formation,
3,000 ft. thick at Elk River valley, thins to the north, and is
probably only 200 ft. thick east of the main range of the
Rockies [2/p. 482].

It is estimated that, of the " actual " and " probable "
reserves, 1-7 per cent, is semi-anthracite and 98-3 per cent.
is coking and non-coking bituminous and usually of high
grade [i22/p. n]. The anthracitic character varies with the
degree of dynamic action to which the beds have been sub-
jected.

Kootenay coal is the best found in the Prairie Provinces,
and examples of its occurrence are :

98 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Coleman area. Three of the principal seams are 16, 10 and
18 ft. thick.

Blairmore area. This area contains seams 10, 17, 3^, 3j,
17 and 6 ft. thick.

Livingstone basin. In the north, 13 seams, with 43 ft. of
coal, and in the south, 21 seams, with 125 ft. of coal, are believed
to occur. This area is not yet actively mined.

Moose Mountain area, lying west and south of Calgary, has
seams 7, 8 and 20 ft. thick.

Cascade. This field is nearly 90 miles long. Between the
Bow and Kananaskis rivers 15 seams aggregate 85 ft. in thick-
ness. At Bankhead the coal approaches anthracite.

Bighorn basin. This field has a length of 46 miles, in which
at various places from 3 to 14 seams, aggregating, respectively,
from 22 to 88 ft., occur. Seams of 21, 7J and 4^ ft. are being
mined at Mountain Park. The coal is coking. Coal is also
found in the Kootenay formation in various other localities in
the Rockies and in the foothills.

Average Analysis

Coal Field. Moisture. Vol. matter. Fixed C. Ash. Calories.

Blairmore 0-50 28-30 58-50 12-70 7,000

Bighorn . 1-13 24-40 67-90 6-57 7,537

Cascade . 0-40 14-60 7*'5 I 3'5 7,266

British Columbia

The coal-fields of British Columbia may be grouped into :
Rocky Mountains field in the east of the province.
Southern and Central fields.

Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands fields in the west.

The coals of importance are Cretaceous. They occur only

in disjointed areas, and their correlation depends, therefore,

largely on fossil evidence, while their exact geological age is,

in certain cases, uncertain.

Rocky Mountains Field. This field, lying on the Elk River
and the western side of the Rockies, comprises the important
Crow's Nest Pass basin and, immediately to the north, the upper
Elk River basin, which passes, at its northern end, into Alberta
at Kananaskis Pass. Crow's Nest basin [No. n on Map] has an

CANADA

area of 230 sq. miles, and is the most important field being
mined in British Columbia. The Coal-Measures belong to the
Kootenay Series, and contain 22 seams and 200 ft. of coal of
which 100 ft. are considered workable. In the smaller area of
the upper Elk River the same measures occur, but the number
of seams varies. Sections showing 80, 68, 182 and 97 ft.
of coal are reported, and one seam on Lewis Creek is 31 ft.
thick. The coal is of quality similar to that of Crow's Nest.

Analysis of Crow's Nest Coal [120]

Coal air- dried.

Moist.

Vol.

F.C.

Ash.

Calories.

Fuel
ratio.

C.H.
ratio.

Coke.

Corbin, No. 4 mine

o-5

2 4 -6

6l-I

I.V8

2-50

17-9

poor

Michel Colliery .

0-7

22-4

65-0

1 1 -9

7,366

2-90

16-9

Coal Creek Colliery

i'3

26-O

63-8

8-9

7.578

2'45

17-3

Small occurrences of Tertiary coal also are reported from Bull
River, Kettle River, Midway and Okanagan.

Southern Field. At Princetown [No. 12 on Map], seams of
Tertiary lignite, 4J, 6J and i8J ft. thick, occur within 50 ft.
of the surface. Boring in the vicinity indicates great variation
or want of continuity in the beds. Woody fibre is still apparent
in some of the seams. The analysis of the thick seams is :
Moisture, 16 ; Vol. matter, 37-5 ; Fixed Carbon, 42 ; Ash, 4-5 per
cent. At Tulameen, Tertiary bituminous coal is found in seams
ranging from 5 to 12 ft. thick.

Nicola valley [No. 12 on Map] coal is of similar age, but
ranks higher as sub-bituminous. The analysis is : Moisture, 4 ;
Vol. matter, 37*5 ; Fixed Carbon, 44-5 ; Ash, 14 ; Calories, 6,240
[120]. The thickest seams occur at Coldwater Creek, and
seams, 6, 10, 5 and 12 ft. thick, are being worked south of the
Nicola River, while north of the river two seams of 4 ft. and
5 ft. have been located.

Central Field. Lignite of low grade is found at Alexandria,
Quesnel and Fort George [No. 13 on Map]. In the extensive
region between the Fraser River and the Coast Range, concealed
coal-fields may exist beneath the Tertiary volcanic rocks.
Lignite, under disturbed and rather unpromising conditions, is
found on the Nazco, Blackwater and Nechako Rivers and on

loo BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Fraser Lake. On the Coast range, on a branch of the Dean or
Salmon River, excellent lignite in a seam 4 ft. thick occurs.

In the valley of the Bear River 3 seams of bituminous coking
coal, aggregating 21 ft., occur, and probably contain 150 million
tons.

On the southern tributaries of the Skeena River, lower Cre-
taceous Coal-Measures, known as the Skeena Series, occur, as
described in 1907 by W. W. Leach for the Geological Survey,
in long narrow basins left in troughs of the folded underlying
volcanic rocks, erosion having removed the more elevated
portions on the ridges. In Morice River district coal has been
found at Clark's Fork, where 3 seams, totalling 7 ft., and a seam
of 10 ft. have been proved ; on Goldstream, where bituminous
coal is exposed in 3 seams of 8, 6J and 3! ft. ; and on Coal
Creek, where hard coal occurs in 4 seams from 4 to 7 ft. thick.

On another tributary, the Telkwa River, coals varying from
bituminous to semi-anthracite give the following analyses
. 104].

Seam. Moisture. Vol. F.C. Ash.

Cassiar Coal Co., 7 ft. . . . 1-92 30-45 61-30 6-35
Telkwa M.M. and D. Co., 5^ ft. . 1-36 10-87 80-82 6-95

Vancouver Fields [No. 14 on Map]. The coals of Vancouver
Island are, so far as determined, Upper Cretaceous, and occur
in a series of rocks known as the Nanaimo Series. This series,
originally nearly 10,000 ft. thick, was, in post-Eocene times,
elevated, folded and dislocated, and subsequently greatly
denuded. The chief coal-bearing areas lie in low rolling and
hilly country between the east coast and the mountains of the
interior. They consist of the Nanaimo field, with a productive
area of 65 sq. miles, and, to the N.W., the Comox field. The
Suquash, a smaller field in the northern end of the island, was
till recently quite undeveloped. Other basins probably con-
taining workable coal are Quatsino Sound, near Suquash,
Alberni in the centre of the island, and Cowichan south of
Nanaimo.

In Nanaimo field, theimeasures are described as moderately
disturbed with a low dip to the north-east. The coal occurs
chiefly in three seams in the lower part of the measures. The
seams, though persistent, vary greatly in thickness. At times

CANADA 101

a seam of clean coal, 30 ft. thick, diminishes within a distance
of 100 ft. to 2 or 3 ft. of dirty coal. The coal c&kes readi/y ? . ; -A
typical analysis is :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur. ^y^al"

1-6 39-7 47-7 io-i 0-9 7,130

The Comox field contains several seams of which three have
been mined, the lowest, 7 ft. thick at the Union mine, being the
thickest. Mining centres round Cumberland, where the seams
attain their greatest importance. Comox coal has volatile
matter 30 per cent., fixed carbon 57 per cent., and calories
7,220.

At Suquash, several seams occur, and two are workable.
Unlike those of Nanaimo and Comox, they are regular in thick-
ness, but are thin and mixed with persistent " bone " partings.
One seam, 5 ft. thick, has been mined. The available analysis
indicates a water content of 5-2 per cent, in air-dried coal, and
considerably more ash than in the more southern coals.

Queen Charlotte Islands [No. 15 on Map]. Coal both of
Cretaceous and of Tertiary ages is found on these islands. The
former ranges from semi-anthracite to low-carbon bituminous.
The Tertiary coals are lignitic, mostly brown with a woody
structure, but sometimes passing into a black more coal-like fuel.

The Cretaceous coal occurs chiefly in a syncline in the south
of Graham Island, between the Skidegate channel and Yakoun
Lake. Outcrops of coal, apparently from 6 to 12 ft. thick, are
found at Camp Wilson, Camp Robertson and Camp Anthracite.

The following are analyses of Graham Island Cretaceous
Coals :

Moisture. Vol. matter. Fixed C. Ash.

Camp Wilson . 2-44 35-96 48-64 12-96

Camp Robertson . 1-20 29-13 47-52 22-15

Camp Anthracite . 1-52 8-69 80-67 9-72

Near Cowgitz some of the semi-anthracite contains nearly
7 per cent of moisture, and is badly crushed. The mining
of this coal was abandoned in 1871, but another attempt was
made in 1912, with what result is not recorded.

In the north-eastern part of the island, on the shore at
Skonun Point, 10 seams of tough woody lignite, from i ft. to
15 ft. thick, are exposed.

102 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

1 Northern British Columbia. The most important coals yet
disco ve/edc in this region are the semi-anthracites and anthra-
cites of the Groundhog Mountain area [No. 16 on Map] in
latitude 57 N. It is estimated that 170 sq. miles are coal-
bearing, and contain 8 seams aggregating 30 ft. in thickness.

Lignites occur on the Kispiox, Sustut, Peace and Liard
Rivers ; bituminous coal near Peace River canon and on the
Taku River [i22/p. 14],

The actual and probable reserves in British Columbia are
estimated to occur in the following proportions : semi-anthra-
cite, 1-9 per cent. ; bituminous, 85-4 per cent. ; low-carbon
bituminous, 3-3 per cent. ; cannel, 2*4 per cent. ; lignite, 7-0
per cent.

Yukon Territory

The coals of the Yukon are found in Tertiary and Jura-
Cretaceous rocks. The most important coal areas, going from
south to north are : Whitehorse area, Tantalus area on the
Lewes River, and Rock Creek area. The first and second are
Jura-Cretaceous, the third Tertiary.

Whitehorse area [107]. Three seams, 9 ft. 8 in., 10 ft. 4 in.,
and 2 ft. 6 in. thick, dipping 42 to the N.E., are exposed.
The coal has 22 to 25 per cent. ash.

Tantalus area [108] [No. 17 on Map]. The coals range from
high-grade lignite, to coking bituminous coal. They occur in
an upper horizon near the top of the Tantalus conglomerate,
and in a lower horizon in the upper portion of the Laberge
rocks.

In the upper horizon, at the Tantalus mine, three seams
3 ft., 6 ft. 6 in., and 7 ft. 6 in., in descending order, are
found, and assay :

Seam. Moisture. Vol. matter. Fixed C. Ash. Coke.

3' o" 0-82 25-12 66-00 8-03 74-06

6' 6" 0-76 24-74 58-60 15-90 74-50

7' 6" 0-75 23-61 55-21 20-43 75-64

At Tantalus Butte, across the Lewes River, the general con-
ditions of the measures are similar to the foregoing, but less
coal has been exposed. Moisture content is about 13 per cent,
and ash 2*6 to 5-9 per cent.

CANADA 103

Rock Creek area [115]. Yukon Territory contains extensive
areas of Tertiary lignite. The largest area, comprising 200 sq.
miles, extends for 70 miles from Klondike valley W.N.W. to
Cliff Creek. Several seams of lignite occur, and the most
important property at present is that of the Sourdough Coal
Co., on Coal Creek, a tributary of Yukon River. The seams
range in thickness from 4 to 20 ft.

The following are analyses of coal from Sourdough Mine
[2/p. 518] :

Moisture. Vol. matter. Fixed C. Ash.

17-10 34-50 38-40 10-00

14-57 33-n 37-15 15-17

The coal is used at Dawson.

North-West Territories

According to D. B. Bowling [2/p. 521], extensive areas of
" actual " and " probable " lignite-bearing measures occur on
the western side of Great Bear Lake, in the valley of the
Mackenzie River, and particularly in the delta region of this
river [No. 18 on Map]. The Fort Norman Tertiary basin
extends a short distance up Great Bear river, and is estimated
to contain 4,800 million tons of lignite in three seams reported
to be 3, 4 and 9 ft. thick.

In the region of the Mackenzie delta, Cretaceous rocks, over
a wide area, contain a few exposures of coal. On Hortion
river, S.W. of Franklin Bay, a 4-ft. seam and several smaller
seams are found.

Northern Islands

In the Northern Islands, coal, and cannel-coal, probably
from the base of the Carboniferous system, have been found.
Tertiary coal has been exposed on Baffin Island, Bylot Island,
and on Elsmere Island near Lady Franklin Sound. At Cape
Murchison a 25-ft. seam has been reported. The probable
reserves of coal are estimated at 6,000 million tons.

Development of Lignite in Canada

In Canada, as in many other countries, the conversion of
raw lignite into a higher grade fuel is a question of much
importance, and, under Government auspices, is being in-
8

104 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

vestigated in Canada on the lines of briquetting carbonized
lignite for the production of an artificial lignite. Similarly,
in New Zealand, the use of "brown coal" in gas-producers
and for low-temperature distillation is engaging attention, and
has been investigated to a certain extent with encouraging
results [iiQ]. 1 The use of coal generally in improved ways is
referred to succinctly by James White [i22/p. 24].

Powdered coal as a fuel is coming slowly but steadily
into use, and, in U.S.A., about 10 million tons of coal are con-
sumed annually in this form. Its uses and application have
been dealt with by C. F. Herington [114]. In Burma the use
of powdered Tertiary coal, generally hydrous and of indifferent
quality, is now being investigated jointly by the Railway
Department and the Burma Corporation Ltd. The almost
perfect freedom from smoke when powdered coal is burnt is
very striking.

NEWFOUNDLAND

J. P. Howley, writing in 1913, states that the coal-areas of
this island are still undeveloped, a fact due to the claim of the
French to the exclusive right to the foreshore on the western
coast under their fishing rights, while they held no power to
work the mines. This impasse was recently ended.

Rocks of the Carboniferous series occupy 1,100 sq. miles
to the south of St. George Bay, and about 500 sq. miles in the
Humber River valley and its branches. The former is regarded
as an extension beneath Cabot Strait of the same series in
Nova Scotia.

The Carboniferous series in St. George Bay district has been
much folded, and contains several small synclinal troughs of
the " Productive Coal-Measures." On the upper reaches of
the Great Codroy River, a seam of Qj ft. thick and one 23 ft.
thick with 15 ft. of coal are found in an almost vertical position.
The coal is of good quality, but the seams dwindle in thickness
within a short distance. On the Middle Barachois River 12
seams, ranging from a few inches to over 5 ft., are exposed, and
on Robinson's River 3 seams are seen, one being 4 ft. 2 in. thick.

1 In N.Z. the term " lignite " is confined to fossil fuel retaining more or less
the woody structure of the original components, while in Victoria, Australia,
this fuel is termed " brown coal."

NEWFOUNDLAND

105

In the Humber district on Aldery brook, 6 seams, ranging
from i \ to 6J ft. ; on Coal brook, 6 seams, ranging from i to 3^
ft. ; on Kelvin brook, 3 seams, ranging from 2 \ to 6 ft. ; and on
Goose brook, 9 seams, ranging from i to 3! ft., have been proved.

The following analyses are of typical samples of Newfound-
land coal [2/p. 437-8] :

Moisture. Vol. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

Bay St. George . . 2-78 29-28 54-47 10-43 3-04
Humber .... 5-02 31-25 54-03 8-66 1-04

It may be summarized that " there are several seams in the
different sections large enough, and of sufficiently good quality,
to be reckoned as workable coal-seams" (Howley).

TRINIDAD, JAMAICA, WINDWARD ISLANDS, BRITISH GUIANA

(see p. 158)

AUSTRALASIA
AUSTRALIA

New South Wales
Geology of the Coal-bearing Rocks

The work of investigators on this subject has been sum-
marized by E. F. Pittman [i3i/p. 309] (i), Government
Geologist of New South Wales, in the following record :

Geological Age.

Maximum Thickness
of Strata.

Locality.

Character of Coal.

I. KAINOZOIC,

About ioo ft.

Kiandra, Gulgong

Brown - coal or

Eocene to Pliocene

ChoutaBay.etc.

Lignite.

II. MEsozoic,Tnas-

About 2,500 ft.

Clarence and

Coal suitable for

sic or Trias- Jura

Richmond R.

local use only.

III. PALEOZOIC,

About 13,000 ft.*

Northern, South-

Good gas, house

Per mo- Carboni-

ern and West-

and steam coal.

ferous

ern Coalfields

IV. PALAEOZOIC,

About 10,000 ft.

Strouda.f Bullah

Very inferior coal,

Carboniferous .

Delah

with bands ; of

no value.

* David states 15,000 to 16,000 ft. [i26/p. 311].

f Permo-Carboniferous rocks also occur north of Stroud towards Ward's
River, and a 3o-ft. seam of anthracite coal of possible value has been exposed
close to the base of the measures [i26/p. 279].

/. Kainozoic

Lignite or brown coal, of undetermined but limited extent,
has been found in deep alluvial gold beds, overlaid by basalt.

io6 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

One deposit, 30 ft. thick, occurs at Kiandra, but, as a rule, the
beds are from a foot to 3 or 4 ft. thick, and are, at present, of
no commercial value. 1

//. Mesozoic

Pittman regards the Mesozoic Coal-Measures of the
Clarence and Richmond district, south of the Queensland

NEW SOUTH VALES

border, as either Triassic or Trias- Jura. 8 They stretch for
about 1 20 miles along the north-east coast of New South Wales,

1 The writer, while visiting many years ago a " deep lead " gold-mine near
Ballarat, was shown a similar brown-coal deposit, in which the bones of a
gigantic kangaroo, with a chisel-shaped bone implement alongside, were said
to have been found during underground operations. These remains are now
in the Ballarat Museum. The implement is now discredited, and the evidence
being considered inadequate, the matter is unsettled.

* Valuable seams of Mesozoic coal are being extensively worked across the
border in Queensland, and B. Dunstan, Government Geologist, says that,
after due consideration, the old term, " Trias-Jura " has been deleted, and the
terms " Triassic " and " Jurassic " have been substituted as the names of the
individual systems in that State [i27/p. i].

AUSTRALIA 107

and extend northward into Queensland ; their greatest width
from east to west is 65 miles.

These measures have been divided as under :

Shales, possibly containing coal seams . . Upper Clarence Series

Thick bedded sandstones (about 100 ft.) . . Middle Clarence Series
Shales and sandstones (about 300 to 1,000 ft.) with "j

coal seams . . . . . . . j- Lower Clarence Series

Thick beds of coarse conglomerate . . . J

From the lithological similarity of these measures to the
Hawkesbury Sandstones they were formerly regarded as
Triassic, a view which might receive some support from the
fact that both the Clarence coal and the Ipswich coals, with one
doubtful exception, lie beneath identical massive current-
bedded sandstone. The Ipswich coals (excluding the Walloon
series of the same district) are referred to the Trias by Dunstan
[i27/p. 3] and A. B. Walkom [133]. There is a frequent
occurrence in the Clarence measures of Tceniopteris Daintreei,
a fossil not found in the Hawkesbury Series.

According to J. E. Carne [i24/p. 36], the only coals of
the basin occur in the Lower Series. There are at least five
seams of coal with interstratified shale beds varying in thick-
ness from 2 to 37 ft., with rarely more than a foot of clean coal
between the bands. The coal is high in fixed carbon, com-
paratively smokeless, and remarkably free from sulphur, but
high in ash and unsuitable for other than local use, as recently
confirmed in a report by Carne [125].

On the western side of the Main Divide the Middle Clarence
Series is also found, dipping westerly under the central
plains, and is regarded by Pittman as forming the southern
extension of the intake beds of the great Australian artesian
water basin. Many artesian water bores put down over this
great area (569,000 sq. miles) [134] have passed through coal
of undetermined thickness and quality, but in any case the
presence of water under pressure in the strata renders the
possibility of coal-mining most unlikely.

III. Palceozoic Permo-Carboniferous

The Permo-Carboniferous coal-fields of New South Wales
have been divided into the Northern, Southern and Western

io8

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

groups, which, however, are merely geographical divisions of
one large coal-basin.

While the area covered by this system extends over some
16,550 sq. miles, these coal-fields are practically comprised
within a rhomboidal-shaped figure, of which the four angles are
at Newcastle, Wollongong, Wallerawang and Scone, and of
which the extent is about 8,000 sq. miles. Coal occurs beyond
the limits of this area as, for example, to the south and west of
Wollongong, where, however, it is of little present value, and
far north at Gunnedah, where a limited quantity of good coal
is found.

The Permo-Carbonif erous system, with the overlying Triassic
and underlying Carboniferous, may be tabulated as under :

TRIASSIC

PERMO-

CARBONIFEROUS

Hawkesbury Series, divided into
Wianamatta Shales, Hawkesbury
Sandstone, Narrabeen Beds.

Upper, or Newcastle, Illawara and Lith-
gow Freshwater Coal-Measures, with
an aggregate of 35 to 40 ft. of work-
able coal .....

Dempsey freshwater beds .

Middle, or Tomago, or East Maitland
Coal- Measures, with an aggregate of
about 1 8 ft. of workable coal

Upper Marine Beds

Lower, or Greta, and Clyde River Coal-
Measures, probably entirely fresh-
water, with an aggregate of about
20 ft. of workable coal

Lower Marine Beds (Basal beds 200 ft.
thick ; contain numerous ice-grooved
pebbles) .....
Total maximum thickness .

Thickness in feet.

CARBONIFEROUS

1,400 to 1,500
2,200

500 to i, 800
5,000 to 6,400

100 to 300

4,800
17,000

General Review of the Coal-fields

Pittman [131] gives a general review of these coal-
measures, of which the Northern, or Newcastle, coal-field has
been described in exhaustive detail by T. W. E. David
[126], the Southern, or Illawarra, by L. F. Harper [129], and
the Western, or Lithgow, by J. E. Carne [124].

For descriptive purposes it may be taken that the centre
of the basin occurs at or near Sydney, where the supposed top-
most, or "Bulli," seam is being worked by the Sydney Harbour
Colliery at a depth of 2,882 ft. The strata rise from this point

AUSTRALIA 109

at a low angle to the northern, southern and western coal-fields,
in each of which certain coal-seams are extensively worked.
It has, however, to be noted that the quality and thickness of
the individual seams are, as might be expected over such a wide
area, subject to great variation, so much so that the valuable
seams of one district are frequently of little or no value in the
other districts. Further, it may be admitted that surface
contour or other conditions did not admit of either an inter-
rupted growth or deposition of coal-forming vegetation on a
given horizon over the whole basin, and that from this cause
one seam or another may be absent within certain areas. It
would be imprudent, therefore, to insist in every case on a
definite correlation of coal-seams over long distances where
the available evidence is still scanty.

The Upper Coal-Measures of the Northern coal-field have
their continuation in those of the Southern and the Western
coal-fields, and in those tapped under Sydney Harbour. The
" Wallarah," or No. i, seam of the north may be correlated
with the " Bulli," or No. i, seam of the south, and with the
Katoomba, or No. i, seam of the west, all of which form the
top of the Permo-Carboniferous system, and are immediately
overlaid by the Triassic. It has been usually held that the
prolongation of this No. i seam was to be found in the topmost
seam beneath Sydney Harbour, but some doubt has been
thrown on this correlation by L. F. Harper, who, from his
recent investigations in the Southern coal-fields, considers it
probable that the " Bulli " seam and the underlying " Four
foot " seam gradually died out toward the Sydney area, and
that the seam there worked is the third, or " Dirty," seam
of the south [i2g/p. 205].

The Upper Coal-Measures

Northern Coal-field

Seams. Thickness. Character.

i. Wallarah . About n ft. Splint, steam coal

About 20 ft. Splint and bituminous

coal
Up to 25 ft. Contains many bands

2. Great Northern

3. Fassifern

4. Upper Riot

5. Lower Pilot

6. Australian

From 7 to 29 ft.

Not workable
Not workable

7 ft. worked Mostly bituminous

7. Burwood . . . From 6 to 8 ft. Bituminous

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Nobbys .
Dirty .

10. Yard ....

11. Borehole

1 2 . Upper and Lower Sand gate

Thickness.

6 to 10 ft. ; splits
into two seams in
places

About 3 ft.

From 4 to 22 ft.,
usually 8 to 9 ft.

From 4 to 6 ft.

Character.
Not workable

Bituminous ; of ex-
cellent quality
Usually not workable

The Wallarah, Great Northern, Australasian, Burwood and
Borehole seams only are being worked. The Borehole seam
has, on account of its superiority as a household and gas coal,
been by far the largest contributor to the output of this, the
most important coal-field of New South Wales. It is, however,
becoming rapidly exhausted in the Hunter River Delta area,
and is yielding place as premier producer to the Greta seam of
the Lower Coal-Measures .

Further reference to quality will be found under analyses.
The other seams, so far as proved, are valueless under present
conditions :

Southern Coal-field

Thickness.

2 to ii ft., usually
6 to 7 ft.

Seams.
i. Bulli

ex-

and

2. Four Foot .

3. Thick, or Dirty

4. Oil Shale

5. Unnamed

6. Unnamed

7. Unnamed

About 4 ft.
About 17 ft.

Between Nos. 6 and 7,
silicified wood horizon

6 ft., including numer-
ous bands

Character.

Semi-bituminous,
cellent steam
coking coal

Semi-bituminous

Quality variable ; pos-
sibly workable in
the future in parts
to the south

Kerosene shale ; for-
merly worked on
small scale at Mount
Kembla Colliery

Not workable

No. i seam has been extensively, and is increasingly worked
from Mount Kembla, near Wollongong, northward to the
Metropolitan Colliery, a distance of 22 miles, and No. 2 has been
mined to a small extent. In the district south of Mount
Kembla No. i seam thins, and eventually disappears ; No. 2
continues further south, but deteriorates; No. 3 improves
greatly within limited areas ; and No. 4 seam improves in thick-
ness and quality. The other seams are consistently inferior,
and finally disappear in the same direction.

AUSTRALIA

At the main shaft of the Metropolitan Colliery the Bulli
seam is 12 ft. thick, but, at 3j and n J miles to the north, boring
proved it respectively 4 ft. 8J in. and 4 ft. 2 in. thick, while
correspondingly the Four Foot seam was 6 ft. i in. and 5 ft. 3 in.

The Southern coal is an excellent steam coal, largely used
by the ocean-going steamers visiting Australia ; coke made
from it is exceedingly strong, and suitable for smelting purposes
in blast furnaces.

Seams.

1 . Katoomba

2. Dirty

3. "I Coal horizons

4. V marked by thin

5. J coaly streaks

6. Upper Irondale .

7. Lithgow .

Western Coal-field

Thickness.
From 2 to 6 ft.
Up to 1 8 ft., including
bands

From 4 to 8 ft.

About ii \ ft. (lower
6 ft. worked)

Character.

Quality indifferent
No. 3 seam of Southern
Coal-field

Rather high in ash ;

used locally
Good steam and coking

coal

Seams Nos. i and 6 have been worked only to a small extent ;
all the collieries in the Lithgow valley, and some in the Wallera-
wang and Cullen Bullen area in the western part of the district,
work the No. 7, or " Lithgow/' seam.

The coal is a good steam coal, somewhat inferior to the
Southern coal, from which it differs in having a higher per-
centage of hygroscopic moisture, volatile hydrocarbon, and
ash, and a lower percentage of fixed carbon. It produces a
coke useful for metallurgical purposes.

Carne [i24/p. 219] gives the following comparison of coal
from the Southern and Western coal-fields :

Southern
Coal-field.

Western Coal-field.

Bulli Seam.
10 Collieries.

I4thgow
Valley:
7 Collieries.

Wallerawang-
Cullen Bullen.
9 Collieries.

Hygroscopic Moisture ....
Volatile Matter
Fixed Carbon ....
Ash

Sulphur in coal .....

0-97
23-10
65-26
10-67

I-8 3
31-40
54-62
12-12

2'62
29-76
53-82
13-79

100-00

99-97

99-99

0-462

o- 6 55

0'532

H2 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

If Irondale colliery, which works No. 6 seam, be omitted,
the Wallerawang is slightly less in ash than the Lithgow Valley
group.

The Middle Coal- Measures

These measures outcrop at East Maitland on the Hunter
river, W.N.W. of Newcastle. The coals are of both splint and
bituminous order, more tender and friable than those of the
Upper and Lower Coal-Measures, and suitable chiefly for steam,
gas, smithy and domestic purposes, but not for export. The
seams are subject to splitting by bands, which frequently
increase to great thickness. The principal seams, of which the
most important are the second, third and fifth, are as follow :

Summary of Tomago Coal Seams

Thickness in ft. Thickness worked.

1. Top Seam, or Donaldson's Seam 4 to 6 3

2. Big Ben, or Tomago Thick Seam 7 to 10

3. Tomago Thin Seam . . . . 2^ to 3

4. Scotch Derry Seam .... Not workable

5. Rathluba Seam . . . . . 5^ to n 4 to 4^

6. Morpeth . . . . . . 4^ to 8 Not worked

The aggregate of coal is about 40 ft., of which a thickness
of about 33 ft. is in seams upwards of 4 ft. thick, and the total
thickness worked is about 18 ft.

A typical analysis of Tomago coal is [132] : Hygroscopic
Moisture, 1-60 ; Vol. matter, 35-85 ; Fixed C., 53-85 ; Ash,
870 ; Sulphur, 1-222 ; Sp. gr., 1*336 ; Coke, 62-55 i Evapora-
tive power, 12*5.

These measures are not represented in the Western Coal-field,
or in the southern part of the Southern Coal-field, where in
both cases the Upper Coal-Measures rest on the Upper Marine
beds ; but a borehole put down in 1891 at Bulli Colliery on
the flat between the colliery and the sea intersected, at a
depth of 717 ft. below the lowest coal seam of the Upper Coal-
Measures, a seam of coal and bands 7 ft. 4 in. thick, probably
referable to the Tomago Series [123]. In the absence of bore-
holes of sufficient depth, the southern and south-western limits
of these measures are still undetermined. Their northern
extension is still uncertain, but Pittman and David admit the

AUSTRALIA 113

possibility of their coalescing with the Upper Coal-Measures at
Rix's Creek, near Singleton.

Beneath these measures there follows the Upper Marine
Series, with the last evidence of the glacial action begun in the
Lower Marine Series, and continued through the intervening
Lower Coal-Measures.

The Lower, or Greta, Coal-Measures

The general description given by Pittman and the details
amassed by David present a very complete picture of these
measures. They consist of sandstone shales and a charac-
teristic bed of conglomerate usually occurring between the
two coal-seams of the series, but occasionally found between
splits of the upper seam. Their total thickness ranges only
from 1 20 to 200 ft., yet, from the point of view of quality and
productivity, the series, in the 15 miles of country between
West Maitland and Cessnock, has become the most important
coal-mining district in Australia.

The upper seam varies in thickness from 14 to 32 ft., and the
lower seam from 3 to n ft. The former was worked for many
years prior to 1886 at the Greta and the adjoining Anvil Creek
colliery on the western side of the Lochinvar anticline or dome
and at Homeville Colliery on the eastern side, but, by far its
most important development, between Homeville Colliery and
Cessnock, was disclosed in that year by David and his
geological survey party. The importance of this discovery,
now fully appreciated by colliery companies, is shown by the
production from this seam in 1917 being nearly 60 per cent,
of the output from the Northern Coal-field.

The coal breaks with a conchoidal fracture, and is somewhat
cannel-like in appearance. It is hard, clean, and suitable for
gas-making and household purposes. It is a useful steam-coal,
but rather fast-burning and smoky ; the sulphur content is
rather high, particularly in the " brassy tops " of the upper
seam, which, on account of their character, are usually left as
a roof in the working places, and are consequently lost for ever.
The sulphur contents and the cannelly nature of the coal, with
a consequent low ignition point, tend to induce spontaneous
combustion. These characteristics, further, may account for

H4 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the weathering of the Greta coal-seams at their outcrop to an
exceptional degree, as the writer has personally observed.
David, citing an instance of this, says, " The entire 30 ft.
of coal, as it approached the surface, was represented by a
few inches of perished coal, or black-peaty clay," and " it
has often been found necessary to tunnel for a distance of
80 to a 100 yards before the coal makes its full thickness."

In the " Burning Mountain " at Wingen, 90 miles N.N.W.
of West Maitland, the Greta seam has, through spontaneous
combustion, been burning for a period of at least 1,000 years
according to an estimate by David [i26/p. 190], who, in the
same Memoir, p. 144, states that the Greta seam, in the Cess-
nock district, has been on fire in prehistoric times along the
outcrop for a length of 15 miles.

The outcrop of the Greta measures laps round the Lochinvar
dome, from which coal-bearing strata, probably amounting to
9,000 ft., have been denuded. In addition to this barren area
there are large portions of country where the steep dip of the
measures takes the coal rapidly to an unworkable depth
beneath the Middle and the Upper Coal-Measures.

The characteristic bed of conglomerate previously referred
to can be traced for over 100 miles from West Maitland to
Wingen. Again, in a direct line 160 miles due north of Wingen,
at Ashford, south of the Queensland border, there occurs what
is probably the equivalent of the Greta Coal-Measures, includ-
ing a fine, but highly inclined seam 30 ft. thick [126]. Some
400 miles further north, on the Dawson River coal-field, in
Queensland, west of Rockhampton, an n-ft. seam of fine steam-
coal, capped by marine strata, was discovered by B. Dunstan
[I28], 1 and described by him as the best steam-coal yet found
in Australia. This also is supposed to correspond to the Greta
horizon. Again, 200 miles further north, in the Bowen River
coal-field, R. L. Jack [130] has described four seams over-
laid by marine strata rich in the fossil brachiopod, Strophalosia,
as are the Upper Marine beds of N.S. Wales. If the correla-
tion of these several occurrences with the Greta measures be
correct, the distribution of the latter in isolated patches north
of Maitland extends to 900 miles.

1 Calorific value, 7,763 ; Evap. power, 2-98.

AUSTRALIA 115

An immense area south of the Newcastle coal-field probably
contains these coals, but at unworkable depths. Only on the
Clyde river, 180 miles S.S.W. of Newcastle, are patches of
Greta coal again exposed.

In Victoria the Greta Coal-Measures have not yet been
found, though possibly their equivalent horizon is the Ganga-
mopteris sandstones of Bacchus Marsh. The known Permo-
Carboniferous strata of Victoria belong chiefly to the glacial
horizon of the Lower Marine Series of N.S. Wales, and David
expresses the opinion that "it is not improbable that coal
may exist in some part of the extensive concealed areas of the
Victorian Permo-Carboniferous rocks." Thin coal-seams of
excellent quality, the equivalents of the Greta horizon, occur
at Preolenna in the north of Tasmania. Lower Marine glacial
beds are found in South Australia, and A. G. Maitland
refers the coal of the Irwin river, above Geraldton, Western
Australia, to the Greta horizon, in spite of its hydrous character.

IV. Palceozoic Carboniferous

The physical conditions under which the rocks of Carboni-
ferous age in Australia were laid down differed greatly from
those of Permo-Carboniferous times. Fossil, and in places
stratigraphical, evidence of a marked break between the two
periods exists.

During the earlier period there was intense volcanic activity,
accompanied by considerable oscillation of the earth crust,
resulting in the elevation of certain areas above, and the sub-
sidence of others beneath sea-level. The advent of the Permo-
Carboniferous period coincided with the appearance of the
remarkable and widespread glacial conditions common to
Australia, South Africa, and north of the equator, to India.
New forms of plant and animal life supervened. Lepidodendron
and the Rhacopteris fern, which flourished over Australia,
Phillipsia, the last Australian trilobite, and many of the cosr-
temporaneous brachiopods, became extinct at the end of the
Carboniferous period, and the reign of Glossopteris and Ganga-
mopteris flora in the Permo-Carboniferous age was established.

The Carboniferous strata of N.S. Wales contain no coal-

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

seams of commercial value, so far as known. Near Stroud,
40 miles north of Newcastle, a 5 -ft. seam of very inferior stony
coal and coaly shale occurs at the top of this system. Similarly,
at Irrawang, nearer Newcastle, thin seams, full of bands of
clay or volcanic ash, are found. These evidences, and the
wide distribution throughout the measures of volcanic dust,
lava and volcanic mud render the existence of any clean coal
improbable. Rhacopteris fern leaves and impressions of
Catamites are numerous, and form a useful guide in distinguish-
ing the rocks of this system from the Permo-Carboniferous
strata.

Analyses of New South Wales Coals

The Samples analysed represent the Coals as sold

No. of
samples.

Mois-
ture.

Vol.
matter.

Fixed
Carbon.

Ash.

Sul-
phur.

Specific
gravity.

Evap.
power.

NORTHERN COAL-FIELD

Upper Coal-Measures
Borehole Seam

7-32

I-322

12-82

Burwood Seam

8-29

12-68

All seams

2-01

[36-01

53'27

8-71

0-468

12-70

Middle Coal-Measures

1-88

52-77

9-64

1-185

1-350

12-50

Lower Coal-Measures

1-89

41-35

6-25

1-014

13-20

(Greta)

SOUTHERN COAL-FIELD

Upper Coal-Measures

No. i (Bulli Seam)

10-94

12-80

No. 2 (4 Foot Seam)

12-24

12-50

No. 3 (Dirty Seam)

I5-9I

All Seams

0-71

23-65

63-98

n-66

0-470

12-00

WESTERN COAL-FIELD

Upper Coal-Measures

2-05

32-3I

53-08

12-56

0-672

II-90

(Seep, in.)

Outputs of Coal for Years 1913-9

Northern

District.

Western

District.

Southern

District.

Quantity.

Value.

Quantity.

Value.

Quantity.

Value.

1913

7,402,627

2,892,256

930,066

239,694

2,081,472

638,425

1914

7.113,991

2,734,872

913,890

253,494

2,362,741

749,394

1915

6,307,015

2,397, 8 33

880,595

242,481

2,261,398

784,316

1916

5,311,832

2,406,265

966,396

269,393

1,848,933

660,761

1917

5,380,957

3,074,966

1,070,041

427,667

1,841,869

920,107

1918

5,966,926

3,48l,4l8

1,111,672

481,940

1,984,578

978,449

1919

5,629,253

3,795,244

1,175.727

549,599

1,826,574

1,078,003

AUSTRALIA 117

Coal Reserves

Based on the assumption that the workable coal extends
over an area of 16,550 sq. miles, and is of available thickness
only 10 ft., and deducting one-third, E. F. Pittman estimates
the available coal within 4,000 ft. depth at 115,346 million
tons [2/p. 12],

Queensland

An eminent geologist, when referring in 1872 to the geology
of Queensland, stated, " It is doubtful if true Permian and Trias

n8 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

exist or are represented on the Australian Continent." The
reference to " true Permian " probably indicates that doubt
which gradually found definite expression in the present inde-
finite designation, Permo-Carboniferous, for strata in Australia
of Permian, and possibly of partly Carboniferous, age.

But, according to B. Dunstan, Chief Government Geolo-
gist of Queensland, coal is found in this state in rocks of Ter-
tiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic and Permo-Carboniferous
age.

The relative age of Queensland coals, as at present under-
stood, is as under, from Tertiary to Triassic [i2i/p. 4].

TERTIARY :

Waterpark Creek ....... Brown coal.

CRETACEOUS (freshwater and marine deposits) :

(Upper) Burrum Series (freshwater) .... Coal-bearing.

= Winton Series (freshwater).
(Lower) Maryborough Series (marine).

= Rolling Downs Series (marine).
JURASSIC (exclusively freshwater deposits) :

Walloon Series ... . . . Coal-bearing.

= Darling Downs Series.
= Tiaro Series.

? = Laura (Cooktown) Series.
? = Peninsula Series.
? = Styx Series.

? = Stan well Series [No. 22 on Map].
? = Callide Series.
TRIASSIC (exclusively freshwater deposits) :

Bundamba Series ..... Coal-bearing.

= Landsborough Series.
= Helidon Series.

Ipswich Series (Tingalpa, etc.) . . . Coal-bearing.
PERMO-CARBONIFEROUS :
Upper Coal-Measures.
Upper Marine Series.
Lower Coal-Measures.
Lower Marine Series.
Loc. Dawson River.

Mackenzie Central Railway.
Clermont.
Nebo.

Bo wen River.
CARBONIFEROUS :

Star Series.
? Lower Gympie Series, etc.

Tertiary Coal-Measures

Waterpark Creek brown-coal area lies 34 miles N.N.E. of
Rockhampton, and is the only known brown coal in Queens-

AUSTRALIA tlQ

land [i35/p. 216]. It occurs in two seams, aggregating 57 ft.
in thickness, and, though hydrous (see Table of Analyses), is
of good quality. It is still unworked.

Cretaceous Coal-Measures

The most important coal-seams of this series are those of
the Burrum coal-field in the coastal district, between 8 and 20
miles from Maryborough, where coal of excellent coking quality
is mined. The measures (Upper Cretaceous) rest conformably
on the marine beds of the Maryborough Series (Lower Cre-
taceous), the equivalent of the Rolling Downs Series. These
marine beds, which extend over probably 1,200 sq. miles on the
eastern coast, are a useful guide to the position of the coal-
seams of the overlying and frequently detritus-covered Burrum
measures [i27/p. 2] [143] [141].

In Central Queensland a stretch of country from north of
Hughenden to South of Winton, 200 miles long and 70 miles
wide, occupied by Cretaceous rocks (the equivalent of the
Burrum Coal-Measures), is known to be coal-bearing. This
area is within the great artesian water-basin, and has been
extensively bored for water. Some coal-seams have been
proved in this way, both at shallow depths and at from 1,000
to 2,000 ft., but little is known regarding them, and it is, more-
over, not clear that coal-mining in the water-bearing strata
would be feasible. Dunstan mentions that north of Warreah,
near the Flinders river and 40 miles east of Hughenden, in a
shaft sunk to work a thick seam [i39/p. 19], " large quantities
of water were struck at 500 ft. and prevented the shaft being
sunk to the depth required." He, however, thinks that pro-
specting for coal in these western districts is warranted, except
at points close to and consequently competing with coal of an
older series and generally of better quality.

In reference to this district, J. H. Reid, Government Geologist,
in his report on the Glossopteris beds at Bett's Creek [142], says
it is probable that the coal-bearing shales of the Flinders river
and the coal-beds found in the Blantyre bore (10 miles north
of Warreah), at depths of from 400 to 500 ft., where they lie
under shales containing marine Cretaceous shells, belong to
9

Mo BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

the Permo-Carboniferous or Lower Mesozoic," and " we may
reasonably expect to get Permo-Carboniferous beds under the
newer formations of the central plains of Northern Queensland."
It may be noted that coal in the Westphalian and the Kent
coal-fields is worked beneath water-bearing Cretaceous beds
with due precautions. Reid, referring to Bett's Creek Glossop-
teris beds, states, " Glossopteris has never been found in other
parts of Australasia above the horizon of the Upper Coal-
Measures " (Permo-Carboniferous).

Jurassic Coal-Measures

In 1915, Dunstan classified the Walloon Series of the Ipswich
district as Jurassic, thus separating it from the Ipswich Coal-
Measures and Bundamba Series, which he placed as Triassic
[i27/pp. 2 and 25]. This classification has been lately sup-
ported by A. B. Walkom's examination of the flora of the
Walloon and Ipswich measures [133]. Dunstan, at the same
time, stated that the old term " Trias- Jura " had, after due
consideration, been changed to " Triassic " and " Jurassic "
as the names of individual systems.

The important members of these measures, the Walloon
Series in the district to the south of Ipswich, and the Tiaro
Series west and south of Maryborough, are, with the somewhat
doubtful Jurassic measures of the Peninsula, Styx, Stanwell
and Callide coal-fields, found in the south-east quadrant of the
State. The Laura Series, on the Endeavour Laura and
Deighton rivers, to the west of Cooktown, in the far north,
is the only outlying area of these measures. But, according
to Dunstan [136], the extension of the Walloon Series may
be traced from the Macpherson Range, on the southern Queens-
land border, through Chinchilla and Roma, and along the Great
Dividing Range to the extreme north of Cape York Peninsula,
a distance of 1,300 miles.

Triassic Coal-Measures

So far as at present determined, the Bundamba Series, with
the equivalent Landsborough and Helidon Series, and the
Ipswich Series comprise the Triassic Coal-Measures.

AUSTRALIA 121

Permo-Carboniferous Coal-Measures

The chief coal-resources of Queensland are undoubtedly to
be found in these measures, and it is probable that the quantity
will eventually be found to be largely in excess of the con-
servative official estimate.

From a point on the Dawson river, 150 miles west of Mary-
borough, an area occupied by rocks of this system extends in
a north-north-east direction to the Bowen river, and has an
average width of 100 miles. In this area, equal in extent to
nearly two-thirds of England and Wales, coal of excellent
quality is exposed at many points, such as the 20-ft. Mammoth
seam on the Central Railway in the Mackenzie river area,
the 66-ft. seam of the Clermont area in the west, and the 20 to
29-ft. seam of the Bowen area in the extreme north.

Geological mapping of the Bowen river district [137]
[i35/p. 215] shows the coal-measures to be well denned, resting
conformably on a series of beds of conglomerate and agglomer-
ate made up of volcanic material, and overlaid by a great thick-
ness of sandstone, etc., containing abundant marine fauna.
These underlying and overlying beds are considered to be the
Upper and the Lower Marine Series of the Permo-Carboni-
ferous, in which case the coal-measures are the equivalent of
the Lower or Greta Coal-Measures of New South Wales.

In this district about 30 sq. miles of the Upper Marine beds, a
very small portion only of the known area, has been examined.
The coal-field contains four seams, of which the thinnest varies
in thickness from 2 to 6 ft. and the thickest from 20 to 29 ft.
The quality of the coal appears in places to have been affected
detrimentally by intrusions of igneous rock, but elsewhere it is
almost all that could be desired, and, on completion of the
railway to the coast, the coal should command a coastal and
export market. Recent boring has proved seven seams, of
which five are considered workable, and the Mines Department
in 1917 recommended the construction of a railway to connect
the field with Bowen.

The possible hidden extension of the Permo-Carboniferous
measures has been already referred to on pages 119 and 120.

122

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Coal Reserves

Queensland, with its area of 670,500 sq. miles, may be
described as a country rich in coal. The chief reserves lie
in the south of the State in its coastal and eastern part. The
more accessible deposits have been brought under limited
contribution, but the bulk still remains little prospected and
wholly undeveloped. Nor is this strange in a country with a
population of but one person to the square mile. An estimate
of coal resources must, therefore, be largely tentative. The
official estimate, made apparently on conservative lines, about
1912, is :

Actual Reserve
Probable Reserves
Possible Reserve

Tons (metric).
412,000,000
1,685,000,000
13,122,000,000

Table of Proximate Coal Analyses

Nos. on Map.

Moisture.

Volatile
Hydro-
Carbons.

Fixed
Carbon.

Ash.

Estimated
Calories.

Range.

i. Beaudesert Area .

8-2

40-13

58-13

25-11

6,802

2. Burrum Area

3-0-1

31-24

68-62

8-4

8,079

3. Callide Creek

12-0-8

28-23

59-41

20-4

7^51

4. Chinchilla Area .

No reliable analysis

5. Clermont Area

5-0-8

57-21

62-53

10-4

7,726

6. Cooktown Field .

8-0-3

30-19

72-34

26-8

7,249

7. Dalby Area

6-5

40-39

42-41

12-13

7,027

8. Dawson River

3-1

14-6

86-74

17-4

7,763

9. Hughenden Area .

15-7

32-18

51-34

31-8

7,060

10. Ipswich Area

2-0-7

33-21

72-50

21-4

7,467

n. Ipswich (Walloon)

8-4

40-23

48-29

25-6

7,096

12. Little River

3-i

26-6

83-58

17-6

7,607

13. Mackenzie River

(Central Railway)

3^0-4

24-7

81-43

29-5

8,095

14. Mount Mulligan .

7,095

15. Nebo (Bee and Walker's

Creeks) Area .

3-2-5

12-8

84-61

16-3

7,314

1 6. Nundah Eagle Farm .

9-0-6

35-21

55-39

26-19

7,006

17. Styx River .

2-1

31-22

64-59

12-3

8,034

1 8. Tiaro Area .

12-10

34-3

90-39

21-4

7>036

19. Toowoomba Area

3-5

40-26

42-6-40

17-14

20. Warwick Area

5-4

44-39

44-37

16-9

6,785

21. Waterpark Creek

IO'7-IO-2

4I-5-40

43-39

10-6

6,832

Note. Many other areas exist in the State, but there is no direct evidence
of their being actually or probably productive.

The output of coal in 1915 was 1,024,273 statute tons, or 8-3 per cent, of
the total Australian output, or 0-082 per cent, of the World's output. The
output in 1919 was 931,631 tons.

* For complete table of analysis see [i38/p. 262]. For coal bibliography
see [39/p. 249] [i3/p. 245] [140].

AUSTRALIA 123

South Australia

The known coal deposits of South Australia are of very
limited extent, and their economic value is still doubtful. They
are classified as follow :

1. Tertiary. Lignite in the south of the State.

2. Lower Cretaceous. Brown coal and lignite of the Great

Australian Artesian Water-basin.

3. Jurassic. Leigh's Creek Coal-field.

/. Tertiary

The lignite of this age found at several places, such as the
Adelaide Plains, Noarlunga, etc., has not aroused any interest
and is not worked. A borehole on the Paradise Coal Mining
Company's property in Section 2,093, Hundred of Yatala,
near Adelaide, struck lignite at 150 ft. and proved the seam
to be 43 ft. thick. This lignite is high in moisture, ash and
sulphur [145].

//. Lower Cretaceous

No coal of a value apparently sufficient to warrant develop-
ment has been found in these measures, although the presence
of small seams of brown coal has been proved in boring for
artesian water.

///. Jurassic

Leigh's Creek coal-field consists of two basins adjoining each
other, and situated on the Great Northern Railway. Copley
Station (formerly called Leigh's Creek) is at the northern end
of the southern and smaller basin. It is 373 miles by rail from
Adelaide and 163 miles from Port Augusta ; Telford station,
six miles further on, is within the northern basin [144]. *

The Coal-Measures occupy irregularly-shaped depressions in
Cambrian slates. The northern basin has a length of 9 miles
from north to south, a maximum width of 5 miles, and an

1 This Review rectifies certain details supplied to The Coal Resources of the
World, and gives the results of more recent investigations.

124 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

area of 36 sq. miles. The southern basin is 4 miles long, with
a maximum width of 2 miles and has an area of 6-4 sq. miles.
The strata in each basin dip towards the centre.

Exploratory work in the coal-field has, with the exception of
an old shaft sunk to 70 ft. in the southern area, been confined
to the northern basin, and consists of four boreholes, an n ft.
by 6 ft. shaft, and certain underground workings in the main
coal-seam, at a depth of 300 ft. The coal, which at the shaft
is 45 ft. thick, is of a hydrous character, and the recently sug-
gested term, " sub-bituminous," may be applied to it.

The depth and thickness of the seam, where proved, are as
under :

Depths. No. i Bore. No. a Bore. No. 3 Bore. Shaft.

Top of seam . . 125 i>497 608 240 ft.

Bottom of seam . . 158 i,545 646 285 ,,

Thickness of seam . 33 48 38 45 ,,

The quantity of coal extracted prior to 1909 was 12,455 tons,
and a further 713 tons were won in 1917, when a thorough
sampling of the coal was undertaken by the Department of
Mines. There was no production in 1918. Analyses of the
numerous samples gave the following general results :

Water at Volatile Fixed ...

105 C. matter. Carbon.

Average of Undried Samples

Water at Volatile :
105 C. matter. C

From top 7 ft. . . . 3 2 '55 26 '9 34'4 2 6 * 8 3
From full thickness (45 ft.) 27-15 25-24 33-68 13-91

Average of Air-dried Samples

From top 7 ft. . . . 16-46 30-63 44-68 8-20 0-37
From full thickness (45 ft.) 14-23 27-75 41-75 16-25 0-24

The samples on being air-dried lost practically half their
moisture. The best coal is obtained from the top 6 ft.

The coal in general is dull, with layers of bright lustrous
coal. Occasional bands of clayey matter, seldom over half an
inch thick, and without continuity, blend gradually with the
coal. The bands were included in the samples taken, as, from

AUSTRALIA 125

their mode of occurrence, it would be difficult to separate them
from the coal by hand-picking.

The coal may be classified as sub-bituminous, and as usual
with coal of a hydrous character, is peculiarly liable to crumb-
ling on exposure to the dry air and strong sunshine. No im-
provement in this respect can be expected in the coal occurring
at a greater depth.

The economic value of this coal-field has hitherto been in
considerable doubt, but, when regard is had to the large quan-
tity of coal contained, and the fact that all the coal used in the
State is imported, a thorough and continued investigation is
fully justified. The whole of the coal practically can be safely
extracted if the method of hydraulic packing of the spaces left
as the coal is removed in horizontal sections from downwards
be adopted. To attempt mining a deposit of this thickness
and character by any other method is to court disaster. The
utility of this system of packing has been amply demonstrated
in Germany, and an admirable application of it under Govern-
ment control is found in the working of a 27-ft. seam at Om-
bilin Mine, near Padang, on the west coast of Sumatra. The
general conditions of Leigh's Creek coal-field are such that its
resources can only be fully utilized if worked as a State asset,
though not necessarily by the State.

Tasmania

Tasmania is a country of many small coal-fields. The
irregular contour of its surface, largely covered with heavy
timber, and often with dense undergrowth, while lending it a
peculiar charm, renders difficult the discovery of its mineral
resources. The conditions under which the coal-measures
occur are geologically interesting, but commercially of a
limited character.

The coal-bearing measures belong to the following geological
periods :

I. Kainozoic. Brown coal or lignite.

U. Mesozoic. Bituminous coal ; Upper Coal-Measures of
Tasmania.

126

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

III. Palaeozoic. Bituminous coal and kerosene shale ; Permo-
Carboniferous, or Lower Coal-Measures of
Tasmania.

145

146

147

148

146

147

149

Certain distinctive features relating to the coal-measures are
recognized in Tasmania, as, for example :

i. The absence of strata corresponding to those referred in
New South Wales to the Carboniferous system.

AUSTRALIA 127

2. The existence of " tillite " and glacial conglomerate at
the base of the Permo-Carboniferous Coal-Measures, correspond-
ing to the glacial beds of Australia, India, South Africa, etc.

3. The presence of plants in the Mesozoic Coal-Measures, link-
ing these with the Trias- Jura 1 beds of Australia, India, South
Africa, etc., and the absence, as pointed out by W. H.
Twelvetrees, of Tceniopteris Daintreei, the critical plant of
Australian Jurassic rocks [I53/P- I2 1-

4. The occurrence of diabase, now generally considered as
of late Mesozoic age, which pierced the Permo-Carboniferous
and Mesozoic strata, and forced its way between the beds as an
intrusive sheet now found in exposures over half the country.

5. Much step-faulting, breaking the continuity of the coal-
measures and producing mining areas of small extent.

The general review of the coal-fields of Tasmania given by
Twelvetrees in The Coal Resources of the World is here
largely drawn on. Additional information is drawn from
Bulletins of the Geological Survey of Tasmania.

/. Lignite and Brown Coal

Tertiary lignite and brown coal are widely distributed, and
are found at George Town, Rosewears, Muddy Creek, Evandale,
Kimberley, Sassafras, Howth, Blythe River, Detention, Magnet,
Henty River, Macquarie Harbour, Glenora, Ouse Bridge, etc.
They are at present of no economic value.

II. Mesozoic Coal

Although some of the following coal-fields are scarcely
separate basins, the divisions adopted in Twelvetrees' review
are here adhered to.

1 It is probably an error to refer these Trias- Jura beds, as is done in this
Monograph, to the Clarence-Talbragar Series of N.S. Wales, for the Clarence
Series, in which Tceniopteris Daintreei is plentiful, are more recent than Trias.
They may, however, be coupled with the lacustrine fish-beds of Talbragar,
but not with the Glossopteris-be&ring beds of Talbragar, which are Permo-
Carboniferous,

128 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Northern and Eastern Fields.

(a) Mount Rex \

(b) Rigney's Seams VAvoca Field.

(d) Mount Nicholas Range"!

and Fingal Basin [These areas may be re-

(e) Thompson's Marshes I garded as one coal-field.
(/) Llandaff-Seymour J

(g) York Plains.

(h) Mike Howe's Marsh.

(i) Longford.

(j) Colebrook.

(k) Schouten Island.

(I) Spring Bay and Prosser's Plains.

Southern and South-Eastern Fields.

(m) Compton and Old Beach.

(n) Lawrenny-Langloh.

(o) Sandfly.

(p) Ida Bay.

(q) Hastings and Southport.

(r) Recherche Bay.

(s) Tasman's Peninsula.

(a) Mount Rex [No. i on Map]. Five miles N.W. of Avoca
two seams outcrop on the flank of sandstone hills capped with
diabase. The upper seam is reported to be 6 or 7 ft. thick,
but the quality has not been determined. The second seam,
100 ft. lower, is about 12 ft. thick, with four clay bands
totalling 10 inches. A sample from the second seam assayed :

Seam. Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur. Coke.

Upper part . .1-2 35-0 54-5 , 8-5 0-8 Firm

Lower part . .1-7 28-2 55-0 15-1* Firm

* Portion of the bands were probably included.

This is an excellent coal, similar to that of Mount Nicholas,
which, however, has more moisture and does not coke. It had
not been worked up to the end of 1917.

(b) Rigney's Coal-Seam [No. I on Map]. A seam of excellent
coal, ioi ft. thick, outcrops on the Northern side of the diabase-

AUSTRALIA 129

covered hills near Avoca on the north of the railway. It differs
from Mount Rex coal only in having 26 per cent, of fixed carbon.

(c) St. Paul's Coal-Seam [No. I on Map]. Seams outcropping
on St. Paul's Dome, near Avoca, have been prospected above
Brookstead, but no information regarding their character is
available.

(d) Mount Nicholas Range [No. 2 on Map]. As already
noted, this and the two following areas may be regarded as one
field. While a correlation of the seams may be difficult to
effect, analysis of the respective coals indicate a distinct
similarity.

The Cornwall and the Mt. Nicholas collieries, on the range
between the townships of Fingal and St. Mary's, produce about
95 per cent, of the Tasmanian output. Six or seven seams are
known, varying from 3 to 10 ft. thick, but mining is confined to
two seams known as the " upper," 4 ft. thick, and the " lower,"
6 ft. thick, the latter being the chief producer. The coal is
non-coking, and an average analysis is :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

6-16 26-99 57'4 8 9'I3

(e) Thompson's Marshes ; (/) Llandajf -Seymour [No. 2 on
Map]. These areas extend southward along the east coast
from St. Mary's to Llandaff. Several workable seams, said to
be of very fair quality, have been proved, and coal is mined at
Dalmayne, 8 miles south of St. Mary's, where a colliery has been
recently opened up by adits 1,000 ft. above sea-level, and con-
nected by a self-acting aerial ropeway with the sea, at Picanini
Point.

(i) Longford Area [No. 5 on Map]. A seam, 3 to 4 ft. thick,
at a depth of from 20 to 70 ft., has been mined to a small extent
a few miles south of Launceston. It assays : Moisture, 13-0 ;
Volatile matter, 27-3 ; Fixed Carbon, 47-1 ; Ash, 12*6 ; Sulphur,

0-55-

Coal also occurs at Deloraine.

(g) York Plains [No. 3 on Map] ; (h) Mike Howe's Marsh
[No. 4 on Map] ; (j) Colebrook [No. 6 on Map] ; (k) Schouten
Island [No. 7 on Map] ; (/) Spring Bay and Prosser's Plains
[No. 8 on Map].

130 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

These areas are of small extent, and as the seams are
generally thin and of no special value, the coal is only of local
interest. The coal of York Plains is rather anthracitic, and is
used in malting and other industries.

(m) Compton and Old Beach [No. 9 on Map]. A few miles
north of Hobart and east of the Derwent river, a seam,
2 ft. thick and dipping westerly, occurs at water-level. No
information as to quality is available.

(ri) Lawrenny-Langloh [No. 10 on Map]. Between the
junctions of the Clyde and Ouse rivers with the Derwent at
Langloh Park, near Hamilton, useful coal was many years ago
found in a seam variously reported to be 3! and 5 ft. thick.
Diamond drilling, in 1892, proved nine seams in a depth of
282 ft., aggregating from 7 ft. 3| in. to 13 ft. 2j in. of coal.
No. i seam was from 2 ft. i J in. to 4 ft. and No. 2 from 2 ft. 6 in.
to 4 ft. 7! in. thick. The beds dip to the west. The com-
positions of the coals of these seams are :

Seams. Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

No. i . . 6-40 24-27 52-95 15-80 0-58

No. 2 . . 5-30 25-60 53-87 14-20 1-03

Shaft . . 4-00 23-50 66-30 6-20

The coals are non-coking, strong, dull and suitable for steam
and house purposes, and probably underlie 600 acres.

(o) Sandfly [No. n on Map]. This field is about 15 miles
S.W. of Hobart on the divide between the Huon and the
North- West Bay rivers. About 1,500 ft. above sea-level out-
crops of apparently a dozen seams, at least, occur, but, owing
to the frequency of faults, mining operations have practically
ceased. The main seam consists of 5 ft. of top coal and 4 ft. of
bottom coal, separated by 4 ft. of fireclay ; the analyses of the
coals of the sections are :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

Top section 2-05 27-65 53-70 16-60 Coke firm

Bottom section 2-50 25-70 56-00 15-00 0-70 and coherent

The quality is varied, the ash at times increasing greatly
and at others decreasing to 9 per cent. ; when the latter, the
coal is excellent for general purposes. At the eastern end of
the range the coal seams become anthracitic, and a 3j-ft. seam
contains : Volatile matter, 8 ; Fixed Carbon, 80-8 ; Ash,
9 per cent.

AUSTRALIA 131

Straihblane Colliery [i53/pp. 47-55]. This area, not men-
tioned in Twelvetree's list, lies 32 miles south of Hobart at the
head of Port Esperance. A two-foot seam of hard, dense coal,
breaking with a cubical fracture and dipping 19 N.E., assays :
Moisture, 37 ; Volatile matter, 26-0 ; F.C., 55-1 ; Ash, 15-2.
Another seam, possibly distinct from the preceding, 2,\ to 5 ft.
thick and dipping 25 to 30 N.E., shows a massive shining
coal of which the following analyses are published :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

5-6 30-2 55-2 7-9 i-i

3-6 27-9 55-6 12-9

The extent of the area is unknown.

(p) Ida Bay [No. 12 on Map]. This indentation of South-
port Bay is about 45 miles south of Hobart [i53/pp. 40-5].
Two seams found are proposed to be used locally for the manu-
facture of cement. The upper seam is reported to be 6 ft. thick,
with a dip of 7 S.W. The coal is dull in appearance, with a
few shining layers in it, resembling York Plains coal, and
assays :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

3-10 12-30 69-26 M'74 0-60

The lower seam, about 100 ft. below the upper, is 5 ft. thick,
and consists of massive, rather soft and dull coal, with occa-
sional bright layers :

Analyses

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

3-80 28-90 55-50 1 1 -80 Govt. Analyst.

2-80 14-00 67-30 15-90 ditto.

* '54 *5'5 6 64-90 17-55 0-45 Evap. power 12-2 (Willcoxson)

Note. This evaporative power is probably overstated. J. H. R.

(q) Hastings and Southport [No. 13 on Map]. In the forties
of last century the Government carried out exploratory work
on Southport Bay, but this and other efforts up to 1915 have
disclosed no seams of practical value.

(r) Recherche Bay [No. 14 on Map]. At Moss Glen, near the
mouth of the Catamaran river, seams from 4^ to 5^ ft. thick
were discovered in 1900, but have not been developed. The
quality is stated to be varied and the ash high [i53/p. 21].

132 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

South of Moss Glen, the Catamaran main seam, also dis-
covered in 1900, is very varied in thickness, but may average
10 or ii ft., of which 6 to 9 ft. consists of good coal. Two
typical analyses, made by the Mines Dept., are :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

3-0 24-9 61-2 lo-i
2-2 24-7 69-3 3-8 0-8 Evap. power, 12-43

(5) Tasman's Peninsula. One or two seams of inferior coal,
west of Alt water river in the northern part of the peninsula,
were worked by the Imperial Government many years ago.

///. Permo-Carboniferous Coal

The Permo-Carboniferous rocks found in Tasmania are the
equivalent of the lower portion of the system which in New
South Wales, comprises the Upper Marine Series, the Lower
(or Greta) Coal-Measures and the Lower Marine Series. Their
maximum thickness probably does not exceed 2,500 ft. The
fossils of the marine beds are mostly common to both divisions.
The plants identified in the coal-measures are Glossopteris, Verte-
braria, Gangamopteris, Nceggerathiopsis, Phyllotheca ; the
remains of a small amphibian have also been found.

Permo-Carboniferous coal occurs in the following areas :

1. The Mersey and Don Coal-field.

2. The Preolenna Coal-field (Wynyard District).

3. The Western Highlands Coal-field.

4. The Henty River Coal-field.

5. The Mount Cygnet and Bruni Island Coal-field.

(1) Mersey and Don [No. 16 on Map]. This field is situated
on the north coast, near Devonport, and contains seams of
coal from 16 to 20 inches thick, which have been worked on a
small scale intermittently for over 60 years for local require-
ments. The coal has nearly 13 per cent, of moisture and an
excess of sulphur.

(2) Preolenna [No. 17 on Map]. The following details are
taken from Bulletin No. 13, in which Hills fully describes the
geology of the field [151].

AUSTRALIA 133

At Wynyard the basal glacial conglomerates (see following
section) only are exposed on the beach. They extend S.S.E.
for 13 miles beneath Tertiary sediments and basalt, with an
occasional outcrop, till the higher country around Preolenna is
reached. Here the following succession of rocks in descending
order is found :

Ft.

C Yellow to reddish-brown sandstones un-
,, . fossiliferous ...... 550

Upper Marine Series 1 Sandstone, pebbly sandstone, and mud-

l stone, with marine shells ... 50

Lower, or Greta Coal- /White, yellow and black sandstones, with

Measures \ coal-seams . . . . . .140

fMudstones, with marine fossils . . . 140
A/r c J Blue-grey mudstone, with bands of mud-

I stone conglomerate, unfossiliferous, over . 300
iGlacial conglomerate, estimated . . . 1,220

The average dip of the series is 14 to W. or W.N.W.

Of this interesting assemblage the most striking member
is the glacial " tillite " at the base. In the consolidated
boulder clay, excellent specimens of striated boulders of the
older rocks, up to 3 tons in weight, are to be found. The
homologues of this tillite are the glacial conglomerates of
Bacchus Marsh, and of New South Wales, and, still further
afield, the Talchir conglomerate of India, the Dwyka con-
glomerate of South Africa, the Orleans conglomerate of Southern
Brazil, etc.

The seams of Preolenna are very thin, but four, with perhaps
another, are possibly workable. One at " Qth mile " contains
kerosene shale, and another separate seam at Preolenna Creek
also includes some of this oil-shale. Two seams are 2 ft. thick
and other two are 15 inches. One of the seams contains, over
part of the area, kerosene shale from 6 to 14 inches thick.

A comparison of the better coals and the oil-shale with black
cannel from other countries is given in the following analyses :

Ratio of Vol.
Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur. matter to

Fixed Carbon.

Preolenna coal . i-o 44-7 48-2 6-1 Nil 0-93 : i

Preolenna shale . 1-3 69-56 26-54 2-88 Nil 2-70 : i

Black Cannel

Scotland . . 40-14 40-36 19-50 i-o : i

Ohio . 40-07 41-40 14-53 1-06:1

New South Wales 36-29 36-81 26-90 i-oo : i

134 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Hills classifies the Preolenna coal as " sapropelic " coal, 1
as distinguished from humic (bituminous) coal, and inclines to
refer to it as " black cannel." It is interesting to note that
the Greta coal of N.S. Wales is slightly cannel-like, with a ratio
of volatile matter to fixed carbon of 0-818 to i, and that
patches of kerosene shale have been found in it.

The evaporative power of the coal (exclusive of shale) is 13-9,
equivalent to a calorific value of 7,464 calories. Sulphur is
usually absent.

The estimated quantity of available coal is 5,000,000 tons.

(3) Western Highlands [No. 18 on Map]. Barn Bluff and
Mt. Pelion Coal-Measures lie midway between the Mersey and
Don coal-field in the north and Macquarie Harbour in the
west, and are chiefly interesting from the occurrence there of
scattered blocks, from 8 to 12 inches thick, of a black cannel or
kerosene shale, known as Pelionite. The seam from which
these were shed has not been located. West of Lake St. Clair
there is a 2-ft. seam with 12 to 18 inches of cannel coal or
kerosene shale, which is readily ignited by a match, but little
is known about it.

(4) Henty River [No. 19 on Map]. Between Zeehan and
Strahan insignificant seams on the same horizon as those of
the Mersey basin have been found.

(5) Mount Cygnet and Bruni Island [No. 20 on Map]. West
of D'Entrecasteaux Channel, near Gardner's Bay, a seam,
3-J ft. thick, is mined in a small way. The coal has 22 per cent,
of ash and burns slowly. In Adventure Bay, South Bruni, a
2-ft. seam is known to occur.

The output of Tasmanian coal in 1919 was 66,253 tons, valued
at the pit's mouth at 47,004.

1 A term used by Potonie, who regards this class of coal as derived from
a gelatinous slime resulting chiefly from the maceration and decomposition
of algae in stagnant water, and forming a matrix in which less destructible
organs, such as spores, pollen, etc., were embedded. On this subject see pub-
lications by Renault and Bertrand [146] [147] [149] [150], E. A. N. Arber
[93], David White [155], J. E. Carne [148], E. C. Jeffrey [152].

AUSTRALIA

Coal Reserves
The probable reserves are :

Mesozoic coal
Permo-Carboniferous coal

Total

135

Tons.

54,800,000
II,OOO,OOO

65,800,000

Victoria

Victoria is not rich in coal. Beds of lignite, sometimes
of extraordinary thickness, are found in Tertiary formations,

VICTORIA

f4l 142 143 14^- K6 146 147 148 149 ?50

and a few seams of bituminous coal, generally thin and of no
great lateral extension, occur in Jurassic strata. All are con-
fined to the southern part of the State.

Lignite

Numerous small beds of lignite exist in many parts of Victoria,
but the chief deposits are found at Lai Lai, 13 miles S.E of
Ballarat, Altona-Laverton and the Werribee Plains west of
Melbourne, Morwell in the Latrobe Valley of Central Gippsland,
and Allerton near Port Albert in Southern Gippsland.

136 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Lai Lai [No. i on Map]. Coal was won here over 50 years
ago, and small quantities are still being produced. The
deposit has a probable area of three square miles, and boring
has proved the coal to be at least 200 ft. thick in places, with a
probable average of 80 ft. The average overburden is 60 ft.
thick. The quality is undetermined, except where mining
has been carried out.

Altona-Laverton [No. 2 on Map]. The seam of lignite in this
area, trending south-west, is supposed to extend from the
outskirts of Melbourne to beyond Werribee Park, a distance of
10 miles. Its lateral extension inland and seaward is still un-
proved, but it doubtless continues far under Hobson's Bay.

The thickness and depth at various points are as under

[158]:'

Depth to top Thickness of
of seam. seam.

Ft. Ft.

Newport .... 242 14

Altona .... 348 74

Laverton .... 356 140

Werribee Park ... 521 30

Latrobe Valley, Gippsland [No. 3 on Map]. The Latrobe
Valley deposits stretch eastward on the line of the main Gipps-
land railway for a distance of 30 miles, from Yarragon to beyond
Traralgon, and extend in width from a mile or two to 20 miles,
with occasional spurs to the north and south.

The coal-bearing strata show evidence of general disturbance
and much faulting, and the coal occurs, in consequence, at
erratically varying depths. Thus, near Morwell, and north-
ward, it is mostly shallow and available by opencast working ;
between Morwell and Traralgon the cover is from 460 to 490 ft.
thick ; while from 3 to 4 miles south and south-east of Traralgon
the cover is from 25 to 60 ft.

As already mentioned, the thickness of the coal deposits is,
in places, remarkable. In No. I Bore, close to Morwell, an
aggregate of 809 ft. of coal was proved in a depth of 1,019 ft. ;
4 miles north-east, in bore No. 2, parish of Maryvale, 453 ft. of
coal were passed through in 1,358 ft. ; similarly, a mile and a
half south of the latter bore, 456 ft. of coal were found in 1,110

1 This is the latest and most complete report on the Victorian deposits.

AUSTRALIA

137

ft. The coal-bearing beds had not been bottomed in any of
these bores, and more coal may exist beneath.

Allerton, Southern Gippsland [No. 4 on Map]. Near the
south coast, in the district between Hedley and Gelliondale,
and for a distance of 5 miles alongside the Melbourne-Port
Albert railway, a bed of lignite from 120 to 280 ft. thick, with
an overburden of from 35 to 95 ft., has been proved. Four
miles south of Hedley, and a mile and a half from Lewis Channel,
a seam, 207 ft. thick, was struck at a depth of 276 ft. [I56]. 1
The coal area extends 10 miles westward from Hedley, but the
deposits become thin, and are at a depth of from 250 to 380 ft.

Much boring is still necessary in these lignite districts, par-
ticularly in Gippsland, to determine their approximate extent
and value.

H. Herman, Director of the Geol. Survey, Victoria, has
made the following estimate [157] :

Lai Lai .

Altona-Laverton
Morwell .
Hedley-Gelliondale

Approximate
area.

Sq. miles.

200

. 700
300

Probable
average thick-
ness of coal.

Approximate
overburden.

Ft.

60 (average)

200 to 400

Surface to 500,

He adds, " In many parts of the above areas more than
a 50 per cent, extraction will probably not be made."
Possibly this is correct, but it is an admission of wasteful
methods of mining which the poverty of the State in fuel re-
sources should surely preclude.

The Victorian lignite, or brown coal, as it is termed locally,
consists of a yellowish-brown to black matrix, brown when
powdered, composed of pollen grains, spore cases and other
decomposed vegetable matter, with sporadic inclusions of frag-
ments of trees, the woody fibre of which is still preserved. The
moisture of freshly-mined coal generally exceeds 50 per cent.,
but by air-drying this may be reduced to from 25 to 35 per
cent. Continued exposure causes shrinkage, with consequent
fracturing and crumbling.

1 The Annual Report of the Secretary for Mines, Victoria, for 1917, gives
full details of this and other bores.

138 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

The following analyses quoted by the Advisory Committee
have been compiled from various sources :

Proximate Analyses

I,al I,al. Altona." Morwell.* Gelliondale. a ean X Narracan." c

Moisture . . . 56-78 46-80 53-00 59-60 40-06 41-36

Volatile Hydrocarbons 21-61 27-60 24-00 21-50 26-65 27-13

Fixed Carbon . . 20-03 20-50 21-80 17-30 30-73 23-26

Ash . . . 1-58 5-10 1-20 1-60 2-56 8-25

100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 ioo-oo 100-00

a Bore coal.

b Partly air-dried.

c Much of the Narracan coal is low in ash.

Ultimate Analyses of Coal dried at 105 C.

Morwell. Altona.

Per cent. Per cent.

Carbon . 66-5 61-59

Hydrogen
Oxygen .
Nitrogen
Sulphur .
Ash

4-4 4-17

25-5 25-00 (approx.)

0-8 0-64

*>'3 '94

2-5 8-01

100-35

Mahler bomb determinations of Morwell coals from open-cut

workings

I. 2. 3. 4. 5-

Moisture as determined at

105 C 35-0 44-0 45-3 46-0 45-4

B.T.U 7,518 6,756 6,857 6,136 6,233

Calories .... 4,699 4,222 4,286 3,835 3,895

Evaporative Power . . 7-77 6-98 7-09 6-34 6-44

Note. In coal air-dried to 22-5 per cent, moisture, the average calorific
value = 8,840 B.T.U.

Reserves of Lignite

It is still impossible to estimate accurately the available
quantity of lignite in Victoria, but it would appear that the
estimate of 30,000,000,000 tons, given by the staff of the
Geological Survey, is a safe computation.

The various problems connected with the utilization of these
deposits for the supply of electricity to Melbourne and other

AUSTRALIA 139

places are fully discussed in the report of the Advisory Com-
mittee. The opinion expressed (in 1917) is that power gener-
ated alongside the Gippsland " brown coal " deposits could be
transmitted to Melbourne, a distance of 82 miles, and sold to
existing power-houses at about 0-326^. per unit.

Bituminous Coal

The deposits of coal, other than lignite, in Victoria are very
limited in extent, and are confined to Jurassic strata in southern
Gippsland [No. 5 on Map], the Otway Ranges [No. 7 on Map],
and the Wannon river [No. 6 on Map], all in the southern part
of the State. The only seams of any importance, hitherto
found, are in southern Gippsland, in a belt running from S.W.
to N.E. through Kilcunda, Wonthaggi (Cape Paterson), Outtrim,
Jumbunna, Mirboo, and Coalville (Moe) [No. 5 on Map]. They
range in thickness from 2 ft. to 6 ft., and in one case at Wont-
haggi reached 9 ft. 10 in., but, as a rule, they are thin. In
this regard it may be noted that the average of Belgian seams
worked is not over 2 ft., and a seam of smithy coal, n inches
thick, has long been worked in Scotland. Numerous faults
and the great and rapid variation in the thickness of the seams
add considerably to the cost of mining.

Extensive boring has been carried out at State expense for
many years in search of coal of workable thickness, and the
expense has been justified by the steadying effect which local
production has exerted on the price of imported coal. Boring
is also used at the Wonthaggi " State Mine," where a series of
bores precedes the mine workings in order to prove the position
and thickness of the coal in these irregular measures.

The explorers, Hovel and Hume, as early as 1825-6, dis-
covered coal at Cape Paterson, but even in 1888 the writer,
when visiting the district, found that only one small mine at
Coalville, near Moe, had begun operations. A few years later,
companies began work at Korumburra, Jumbunna and Mirboo,
and since then have had a career useful to the public, but
rather unremunerative to themselves.

At the end of 1909 the State Mine at Wonthaggi was begun,
and up to the end of 1917 had produced 3,490,628 tons of coal

140

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

of a value of 1,646,052 at the pit's mouth. The outputs of the
various mines for 1917 were as under :

State Mine, Wonthaggi

Jumbunna

Powlett North, Woolamai

Austral

Sunbeam

Coal Creek

fens (2,240 lb.).

VcUUC H.L JJ1

mouth.

405,498
22,236

283,848
19,028

20,149

16,119

13,888
2,491
1,958

13,092
1,837
1,335

466,220

335.259

The output for 1918 was 505,775 tons.

The following analyses are typical of Victorian coal

[I57/P- 3i] :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Calories.

State mine, average of 3
samples

Outtrim, Austral
Jumbunna.

and

6-91
4-88

28-31
29-74

55*53
59-97

9*24
5'73

6,666

Victorian coal is unsuitable for gas or coke making, but is
highly valued as a house coal.

Coal Reserves

The erratic thickness and sporadic nature of the seams
render an estimate of reserves, other than those actually
proved, a matter of conjecture. The Department of Mines in
1912 estimated the Actual Reserves of coal in seams over i ft.
thick to a depth of 4,000 ft. at 15,150,000 tons. This repre-
sents 30 years' life at the present rate of production.

Western Australia

In measures of Post-Tertiary and Jurassic age beds of
lignite and brown-coal, generally inferior in quality, have been
found at various places throughout the State. Little work
has been done on them, and, in the absence of geological sur-
veys, no estimate has been made of the possible quantity of
this class of coal.

Coal of marketable quality has been, so far, found only in
one comparatively small basin, the Collie coal-field, in rocks of
Carboniferous age. Strata of the same age are also widely

AUSTRALIA 141

distributed throughout the State, as in the far north of the
Kimberley Division and the western mid-coastal districts of
the Gascoyne and the Irwin rivers.

Towards the base of the Permo-Carboniferous rocks of the
Gascoyne district there occurs a persistent boulder bed com-
posed of striated pebbles and boulders of granite, embedded
in a calcareous fossiliferous matrix, which contains fragments
of Spirifera, Productus and Polyzoa, in addition to Aviculopec-
ten tenuicollis [159]. This glacial boulder bed, known as the
Lyons Conglomerate, has been proved to extend for a distance
of 200 miles, and may be assumed to be the equivalent of the
glacial beds towards the base of the Lower Coal-Measures
of New South Wales ; of the Preolenna Coal-Measures of
Tasmania ; and of the boulder beds of Bacchus Marsh, in
Victoria.

Similarly, in the Irwin river district, a zone of argillaceous
limestone containing striated boulders occurs about the
middle of the Permo-Carboniferous series. The coal of
inferior quality discovered in this district many years ago is
found in rocks higher in the series.

Collie Coal-field. This field lies in the south-western corner
of the State, 100 miles south of Perth and 25 miles east of
Bunbury. The country is thickly timbered with hardwood
(Eucalyptus) trees, which attain a remarkable size considering
the layer of sand and gravel soil that thinly covers the rocks.
The Government, on the advice of J. R. M. Robertson, of
Sydney, began boring in 1892, and several workable seams of
coal were soon located.

The Coal-Measures occupy a roughly oval-shaped depression
in the surrounding granite, schist and other crystalline base-
ment rocks, and have an approximate area of 95 sq. miles,
according to H. P. Woodward [161], and 50 sq. miles, according
to Gibb Maitland [160]. Faults bound the field on all but one
side, that on the south-western side having an estimated down-
throw to the north-east of at least 2,000 ft. The preservation
from denudation of this remnant of coal-measures, which prob-
ably extended over a wide area, is undoubtedly due, as in the
case of the important Damuda river coal-fields of India, to this
block-faulting in the crystalline rocks. (See India, p. 49.)

142

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

The Coal-Measures consist of Glossopteris-bearing beds of
shale, alternating with sandstone and grit, all sprinkled with
mica. The general inclination is i in 17 to the south.

In the main portion of the field the following seams occur in
descending order :

Cardiff No. i Seam .
Cardiff No. 2 (or Boulder) Seam
Collieburn No. i Seam
Collieburn No. 2 Seam
Coal (no name)
Proprietary No. i Seam
Proprietary No. 2 Seam
Wallsend Seam

9 to 12 ft. thick

9
6 to 8

4 to 8

5 to 7
9 to 17

Another series of seams discovered in the north-east corner
of the field would appear to be lower beds. With the omission
of seams under 3 ft. in thickness, they are found in descending
order, as follows :

Coal, 3 ft. ; coal, 4 ft. ; coal, 6 ft. ; coal, 6 ft. 4 in. ; coal,
5 ft. 4 in. ; coal, 4 ft. ; and coal, 5 ft.

According to Gibb Maitland, it has been estimated that,
exclusive of seams of trifling thickness, the total thickness of
coal is about 137 ft. in the 2,072 ft. of strata so far explored.

The Collie coals consist of alternating bands of splinty and
bright coal separated by layers of soft charcoal, the so-called
" mother of coal." The coals are hydrous, semi-bituminous,
and non-caking, and, though hard, tough and unfractured
when mined, they rapidly develop cracks on exposure and
tend to disintegrate with the formation of an undesirable
amount of slack. They burn slowly, with little smoke and a
short flame, to a light, bulky and light-coloured or reddish
ash, free from clinker.

Woodward quotes the following mean analyses obtained
from numerous samples taken from the coal face :

Proximate Analysis

Moisture

Volatile Hydrocarbons

Fixed Carbon

Ash

21-18
28-99

43-73
6-10

Specific gravity

AUSTRALIA

143

Ultimate Analysis

Carbon

Hydrogen

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Sulphur

Ash .

Moisture

Calories

Fresh Coal.

54-51
3-46

I3'23
1-07

o-53

5-28

21-92

After deducting
moisture.

69-80

4-43
17-00

1-37
0-68
6-72

100-00

5.354 6 >795

(Analyst) E. S. SIMPSON.

On exposure for a month to the warm dry atmosphere
common to this region the coal seems to lose over 7 per cent,
of the sample weight or one-third of its initial moisture, and has
consequently an increased calorific value. During locomotive
trials made with this coal in 1905 the following results were
obtained : Calories, 5,817 ; Moisture, 13 per cent ; Ash, 6 per
cent. The percentage of moisture in the freshly-won coal is
remarkably high for a coal of Permo-Carboniferous age.
Coal found at a place called Wilga was determined in 1919 to
be of similar character to ordinary Collie coal, but not equal in
quality to the best Collie coal. It Indicates, however, the
possibility of finding coal outside of the small Collie basin.

Coal Reserves

In 1911 the available coal from six of the known seams,
ranging from 6 to 17 ft. thick, was estimated at 310,000,000 tons.
In the same year, H. P. Woodward, in his contribution to The
Coal Resources of the World, estimated that of 24 seams
from 3 to 17 ft. thick, there were :

Tons.

Actual Reserve . . 153,331,200
Probable Reserve . . 500,000,000

The output of coal from the Collie field in 1918 was 337,039
tons.

144

BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

NEW ZEALAND

In 1866, when information regarding the coal deposits of
New Zealand was still scanty, James Hector adopted the
simple and practical classification of the coals as hydrous
and anhydrous. The large development of hydrous coal in the
country justified the expedient, and, following this method, we
find the workable coals of these classes distributed in the
following localities according to Hector's classification :

Hydrous. (Coal containing 6 per cent, or more of permanent water.)

1. Lignite . . . South Island. Central Otago and Southland.

2. Brown Coal . . South Island. Shag Point, Green Island,

Kaitangata, Nightcap of Southland ; all in
Otago.
North Island. Waikato basin, south of

Auckland.
Anhydrous. (Coal containing less than 6 per cent, of permanent water.)

3. Pitch Coal * . . North Island. Kawakawa, Whangarei, Hiku-

rangi, Ngunguru, north of Auckland.
Mokau-Awakino, south of Auckland.

4. Bituminous Coal . . South Island. Collingwood and Pakawau,

in extreme north. Buller-Mokihinui and
Greymouth, on west coast.

To these has to be added semi-anthracite in the Paparoa
Range, Greymouth.

* Pitch coal varies in moisture on either side of Hector's dividing line. It
contains less moisture than some British coals. Mokau-Awakino pitch coal
should really be classified as a hydrous coal.

Composition of New Zealand Coals

XTT-O+.M- Volatile Fixed A .

Water. . Ash.

Brown Coal (a) :
Average

Extremes .

Pitch Coal (a) ;

Whangarei : Average

Extremes . . .
W. Coast : Average
North Island : Extremes

Bituminous Coal :

Westport (b)

Greymouth (c)
Anthracitic Coal I

Paparoa Range, Greymouth

* Analyses quoted: (a) by
Morgan.

Sulphur.

14-07

37-93

41-92

5-34

2-5

/ 11-00

35'00

37-00

2-00

0-3

\20-00

50-00

51-00

I3-00

5-o

7'45

4I-I3

46-42

5'00

|6-oo

38-00

43-00

3'00

\9-oo

46-00

49-00

8-00

7-61

38-29

46-61

7'47

/4'8o

30-00

40-00

0-50

\9-20

39-oo

60-00

12-00

1-78

38-55

58-04

I-6 3

1-5 to 4-0

2-35

35-35

59-26

3-04

0-29

o-74 I5'69 79-52 4-05 0-42
Park ; (b) by Morgan and Bartrum ; (c) by

166 170 172 174 176 178

. NEW ZEALAND

Sba? Pt,

Dwnedir?

168 70 172 174 1755 178

145

146 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Brown Coal. Half of the available coal of New Zealand is
of this class. Usually it is soft and easily mined, but some-
times is extremely tough. 1

Pitch Coal (Sub-bituminous). This coal is bright, glossy
and friable, and some, for instance Mokau river coal, is so
deceptive in general appearance that it might be readily mis-
taken for anthracite. The Kawakawa coal, sometimes called
glance coal, is frequently termed semi-bituminous, as in official
returns.

Bituminous Coal. The chief deposits of this coal are in the
Westport and Greymouth districts, and in both are of excellent
quality. Coal from the former district, though friable and
making a large amount of slack, is, on account of its extra-
ordinary purity and ready combustion, a very valuable coal.

Semi-Anthracitic Coal. On the eastern slopes of the Paparoa
Range, near Greymouth, coal of this character, of a high
calorific value and occurring below the Brunner coal horizon,
has been mined to some extent.

Classification of Coals according to Age

Since 1866, extensive field-work has thrown much light
on the geological age of the various coal-basins, but even now
unanimity on this subject has scarcely been reached. Nor is
this surprising, considering the complexity of the geological
problems. The following record may, however, be regarded as
reasonably accurate, and is based on the lines followed by
James Park [165] :

I. Kainozoic

Miocene : Oamaru N. Island. Taupiri - Huntly, Waipa - Hikurangi
brown coal series (Waikato basin) ; Mokau and Upper

Wanganui.

S. Island. West Wanganui, Inangahua Valley
(Nelson) ; Mt. Somers, Kakahu, Wai-
hao (Canterbury) ; Ngapara, Wai-
kouaiti, Green Island, Saddle Hill
(Otago) ; Forest Hill, Nightcaps
(Southland).

1 In spite of the tendency of brown coal to crumble, a long-exposed natural
section of Kaitangata-Taratu coal, 23 ft. thick, with 20-55 per cent, of moisture,
examined by the writer, showed a solid, unfractured face and gave a normal
analysis.

NEW ZEALAND 147

Upper Eocene : S. Island. Collingwood, Pakawau (Nelson) ; Moki-

Waimangaroa hinui, Ngakawau, Denniston or Coal-

bituminous coal series brookdale at Waimangaroa (West-

port) ; Grey River Valley, Paparoa
Range (Greymouth) .

II. Mesozoic

Upper Cretaceous : N. Island. Kawakawa, Hikurangi, Ngunguru (N.

Auckland) .
Waipara series S. Island. Shag Point, Kaitangata (Otago) ; Mal-

vern Hills (Canterbury).
Jurassic : S. Island. Waikawa, Catlins River (S.E. Otago) ;

Hokonui Hills (Southland).

Coal Areas

The areas referred to in the following notes are taken in order
from north to south :

1. North Auckland (Upper Cretaceous). The coal-bearing
measures in the peninsula to the north of Auckland occur in
detached areas. Though small, they have contributed con-
siderably to the coal production of the country, but the annual
output does not now exceed 120,000 tons. The coal is gener-
ally known in New Zealand as glance, or pitch coal, but recent
Mine Statements refer to it as semi-bituminous.

In the Kawakawa area the coal seam, practically exhausted
in 1900, was 8 ft. 6 in. thick, thinning out in certain directions,
and in Hikurangi the only known seam varies from 2 ft. to
ii ft. In the Kiripaka section of the Ngunguru field the seam
is 1 6 ft. thick, and recent boring has proved extensive coal-
bearing ground to the dip of the Ngunguru section of the field.
Composition is : Water, 4 to 6 per cent. ; Vol. matter, 36 to 48
per cent. ; Fixed Carbon, 40 to 56 per cent. ; Ash, i to 15 per
cent. ; Sulphur, i to 6 per cent. ; Calories, 6,600 to 7,000.

2. Waikato (Miocene). This important area lies in the basin
of the Waikato river, and extends from Drury southward for
48 miles, and west to the sea, a distance varying from 20 to 25
miles. The Coal-Measures outcrop in the Waikato valley
and dip westward. They also extend south and south-west to
Raglan, Kawhia, Upper Waipa, Hikurangi, Awakino and
Upper Mokau, where, however, they are still undeveloped.

The coal has been worked to a considerable extent at shallow

148 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

depths in the Waikato valley, and partly even beneath the
river-bed and Lake Hakanoa, where the overlying strata or
" cover " consists of incoherent pumice, sand and mud.
Fortunately, this has been accomplished without serious mis-
hap hitherto.

The coal is a hydrous brown coal, disintegrating on exposure,
and gives the following divergent analyses :

After. Water. Vol. matter. Fixed Carbon. Ash. Sulphur.

Park. . . 17-60 33-24 47-08 2-08 0-80 to 2-00

Morgan . . 12 to 15 41 to 46 36 to 44 2 to 3 under 0-50

5,400 to 6,100 Calories.

The output from this area, including a little from Mokau,
is about 350,000 tons per annum.

3. Mokau-Upper Wanganui (Miocene). This is the most
extensive coal-field in New Zealand. It stretches v from the
Upper Mokau and Awakino to the sea, a distance of 35 miles,
and from Upper Awakino southward to the Upper Wanganui,
a distance of 40 miles. The general dip is southward. J. M.
Bell states that there are several seams exposed on the Mokau
river [162], and, according to Park, there is one seam, at least,
varying in thickness from 4 to 16 ft. The coal at outcrops on
the Mokau river examined by the writer was from 4 to 7 ft.
thick, and crumbled rather freely on moderate exposure. Its
composition is : Water, n to 14 ; Vol. matter, 38 to 43 ; Fixed
Carbon, 38 to 40 ; Ash, 6*7 to 7-8 ; Sulphur, 1.8 to 2-7 per cent. ;
Calories, 5,900.

Going eastward, the coal of this field gradually changes in
character from pitch to brown coal.

4. Collingwood and West Wanganui (Eocene and Miocene}.
Park described this district in 1899 [166], and in the same
year the writer examined the seams being worked at Colling-
wood. The following details are taken chiefly from Park's
later descriptions [165] :

At Collingwood, on Golden Bay, six thin seams of bituminous
coal occur in Eocene rocks (Waimangaroa Series) . The second
and third seams, 2 ft. 5 in. and 3 ft. thick respectively, produce
excellent coal, but, on account of their thinness and recurring
faults, mining operations are said to have ceased. An average

NEW ZEALAND 149

analysis is : Moisture, 2 ; Vol. matter, 36 ; F.C., 57 ; Ash, 5 ;
Sulphur, 0-64 per cent.

These seams recur to the north between Pakawau stream
and Cape Farewell. They are mostly thin, but one, about
7 ft. thick, has been worked. It contains rather more water,
ash and sulphur than Colling wood coal.

The Coal-Measures dip at 20 from Collingwood to the N.W.,
and at W. Wanganui Inlet are overlaid conformably by the
upper Coal-Measures (Oamaru Series).

The W. Wanganui coal-field has an unbroken stretch along
the coast from the Inlet to Golden Ridge ; and southward it
extends in detached areas to Turimawiwi valley, a total
distance of 18 miles.

At the Inlet there are outcrops of a 4-ft. seam of " pitch
coal " dipping slightly seaward, and Park, in 1910, refers to an
outcrop of coal 6 to 8 ft. thick. The analysis is :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash.

4-8 to 8-6 37 to 39 45 to 50 4-2 to 4-8

Southward the coal merges into hydrous brown coal.
Between Paturau and Golden Ridge one workable seam occurs.
The analysis is :

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

12-41 20-20 SI'iy 16-22 3'2

The coals of Collingwood and W. Wanganui may eventually
be utilized locally.

5. Buller-Mokihinui (Eocene). The bituminous coal supply
of New Zealand is practically confined to the Buller-Mokihinui
and Greymouth coal-fields, and, fortunately ; the quality of the
coal in each is excellent.

The Buller-Mokihinui coal-measures occupy a narrow belt
of rugged country roughly parallel with the coast, stretching
northward from the Buller river to a little north of the
Mokihinui river, a distance of about 30 miles. The maximum
width is 10 miles. The general dip, though far from uniform,
is to the north-east from the slopes of Mount Rochfort (3,382
ft.) in the south to sea-level at. Mokihinui.

150 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

The coal-bearing beds, once continuous, have, through fault-
ing and erosion, been reduced to isolated and comparatively
small areas ; also, the thickness of the coal is subject to rapid
variation, a diminution from 40 ft. to 4 ft. within a short
distance having come within the writer's observation. Morgan
and Bartrum, in their valuable monograph on this field [163],
mention an increase in thickness from 2\ ft. to 53 ft. within a
mile and a half in the Millerton area. These observers, after
an exhaustive examination, estimate that out of 137 sq. miles
covered by Coal-Measures, only twelve have been definitely
proved to contain workable coal ; but they admit that this
estimate may be possibly increased after further exploration.

Park applies the term Waimangaroa Series to these measures,
after the creek of that name. The coal-bearing beds are corre-
lated with the Brunner beds of the Grey mouth field. (See
Greymouth, p. 151.)

Faults are numerous and distortion of the strata is frequent.
Two main faults occur, the Kongahu, or Lower Buller, fault
and the Glasgow fault. The former, to the west, runs N.E.-
S.W., close to and parallel with the coast ; the latter, to the east,
runs due south. They are 4 miles apart at Mokihinui and 17
miles opposite Mt. Rochfort. Both are due to uplifts of the
strata to the east, and increase in extent of throw rapidly from
north to south, till each, opposite Waimangaroa, probably
exceeds 5,000 ft. Between these the Williams fault, smaller
but similar in kind, begins south of Ngakawau, and runs
parallel to and 5 miles distant from the Kongahau fault. These
thus form a series of step faults rising to the east.

Practically all the workable coal lies in a belt 5 miles wide,
immediately east of the Kongahu fault, erosion having removed
the bulk of the coal further inland, while westward of the
fault the Coal-Measures are hidden beneath the narrow coastal
plain, and dip towards the ocean. Where more seams than one
occur, they are probably splits of the same bed.

The coal horizon at Mt. Rochfort is underlaid by a great
thickness of gravel conglomerate, which dies out northwards
till the coal in the areas where worked lies within a short
distance of the crystalline basement rocks. At Coalbrookdale
of the Westport Coal Co., the writer was informed by the

NEW ZEALAND 151

manager that at one point in the workings the comb of an out-
cropping quartz reef was found protruding into the coal-seam.

The opinion generally held that this and the Greymouth
coals are of drift origin is doubtless correct, the evidence here
in favour of the " drift theory " being as strong as that in
favour of the " growth-in-situ " theory in so many other coal-
fields.

The average composition of this remarkably fine Tertiary
coal is given on p. 144. In freedom from ash impurity it is
almost unrivalled among coals. 1 But the percentage of sulphur
is high. 8 The coal produces good, but light and highly porous
coke in beehive ovens. The output from the Buller coal-field
in 1918 was 580,796 tons (2,240 lb.).

From the method of mining adopted on account of the
thickness of the seam and the physical nature of the coal, the
loss of coal in mining is very great. The extremely limited
reserves of this class of coal in New Zealand, and indeed of all
coal in the country, would seem to call for an enquiry into the
possibility of reducing this waste. Experience under possibly
greater natural difficulties in the Ombilin mine, in Sumatra,
where, in a 27-ft. seam, practically no coal is lost, might furnish
valuable information on a subject of such importance to the
Dominion.

6. Greymouth (Eocene). Next to the Buller coal-field the
Grey is the largest producing field of New Zealand. Roughly
it extends from the Grey River valley northward to Ten Mile
Creek, and from the sea eastward to Blackball Creek, com-
prising an area of 75 sq. miles in one block, largely water free.
The Coal-Measures lap round the south end of the Paparoa
Range, resting unconformably on older Mesozoic rocks. They
have a general but variable W.S.W. dip from a height of over
3,000 ft. at Mount Davy and Blackball Peak to the coast, where

1 The purity of some thick Tertiary coals is notable. For instance, this
Buller coal, with a thickness up to 53 ft., has 1-63 per cent. Ash ; Ombilin coal,
Sumatra, with a thickness up to 27 ft., has i to 2 per cent. Ash ; Makum coal,
Upper Assam, with a thickness up to 80 ft., has 2-03 per cent. Ash; Brunei
coal, British North Borneo, with a thickness of 28 ft., has 1-58 per cent. Ash.

2 This fact was evident in the atmosphere of the Albion Mine workings in
the crushed coal of the Kongahu fault zone, where eyes and throat were pain-
fully affected by the sulphurous air.

152 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

they are exposed from Seven Mile Creek to Ten Mile Creek.
South of Seven Mile Creek to the mouth of the Grey River they
are hidden beneath the Twelve Apostles Range.

Coal-Measures (after Morgan) [i64/p. 51]

Main Divisions.

Kaiata Mudstone
Island Sandstone

Brunner Beds

Subdivisions.

^Paparoa Beds

(a) Coarse sandstones,
grits and pebble
beds

(6) Pebble-beds and
conglomerates

(a) Upper sandstones
and shales

Estimated
thickness.

2,000 to
3,000 ft,

500 ft. (max

300 to
400 ft.

o to 400 ft.
700 to
800 ft.

(6) Middle sandstones, 500 to

with minor shales 600 ft.

and shales 800 ft.

(d) Basal conglomerate, o to

with minor sand- 1,000 ft.
stones

Remarks.
Contains one coal-seam

locally workable.
,) Often calcareous.

Horizon of Brunner,
State Mine (No. i),
and Blackball coal-
seams.

At Ten Mile Creek
contain coal-seams.

Contain one or two
minor coal-seams,
workable in places.

Contain many small
coal - seams, some
workable in places.

Contain 3 to 6 work-
able seams.

Lower layers very
coarse.

The Brunner beds are the representative of Park's Wai-
mangaora Series of the Buller-Mokihinui coal-field, but the
important underlying Paparoa coal-bearing beds are entirely
absent from the Buller field, and are, according to Morgan, so
far as known, unrepresented in any other coal-bearing strata
in New Zealand [i64/p. 53].

Kaiata Mudstone. A mile north of Seven Mile Creek, Kane's
seam has been worked on a small scale for some years. The
quality is indifferent, and boring at various places has dis-
closed no other coal of value in these beds.

Brunner Beds. The difficulty of correlating the coal-seams
of this district is great. The surface is rugged and often
timber-clad, while the seams are much contorted, variable in
thickness and dislocated by frequent faults. Morgan, who
examined this field exhaustively in 1911, considers that in

NEW ZEALAND 153

these beds " at least five seams reach workable thickness in
places, but not one, except possibly the Brunner seam, is
known to extend over the whole field." Hence, in any one
locality, two workable seams at most are found, frequently
only one. The thickness may vary from 2 to 12 ft., and may
rarely reach 20 ft.

The quality of the coal as a whole is excellent, but varied,
as shown in the following analyses :

Mine. Water. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. S. B.T.U.

State No. I . 8-36 41-52 [48-70 1-42 (0-82) 12,857

Brunner . . 0-47 39'<>3 <54'7O 5-80 (2-31) 14.537

Blackball . . 3-52 U8-66 [46-67 1-15 (4-70) 13, 574

The output from Greymouth has hitherto been almost
entirely from the Brunner beds.

Paparoa Beds. The Paparoa Coal-Measures outcrop on
the crest and east and west slopes of Paparoa Range, and
contain an upper and a lower series. The upper series (Moody 's
Creek seams) appear near Seven Mile Creek on the western
slopes of the range. Outcrops of 5 or 6 seams show thicknesses
ranging from 2 or 3 ft. to 7 or 8 ft. The individual seams vary
greatly in thickness, and in many places contain dirt-bands.
Their average analysis is : Moisture, 2-4 ; Vol. matter, 37-0 ;
Fixed C., 57-0 ; Ash, 3-4 ; Sulphur, 0-4.

The lower series appear on the eastern side of the range,
where the seams have been opened up by the Paparoa Coal-
mining Co. The seams vary from 3 to 20 and even 25 ft. in
thickness, and are semi-anthracitic. On the western side of
the range the coal, worked by the State Coal-mine, reaches a
thickness of 20 ft., and is bituminous.

An average analysis of these lower seams is :

Moisture. Vol. 'matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur. Calories.

Paparoa Mine . 0-60 16-66 77'59 5-15 0-305 8,285
State Coal-mine . 1-57 38-22 57'49 2 '7 2 0-460 8,008

The Paparoa Beds contain about fourteen workable seams,
many of which, however, become in places too thin to work,
or have been denuded.

The output from the Grey coal-field in 1915 was 529,245
tons (2,240 lb.).

7. Charleston-Brighton (Miocene}. On this coastal district,

154 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

south of Westport, brown coal occurs, but is at present of
purely local interest. Moderately air-dried samples contain
from 16 to 21 per cent, of water and over 5 per cent, of sulphur.
A few miles inland from Brighton outcrops of anthracitic coal
in faulted country are found, as well as some bituminous coal.

8. Inangahua (Tertiary]. This basin extends from the
Buller river southward to Reefton, and has an average width of
lo miles. It contains at least two seams of superior pitch coal,
an upper seam from 2 ft. to 20 ft. thick, and a lower seam from
4 ft. to 1 8 ft. thick. The analysis of coal worked at Murray
Creek is : Water, 7-68 ; Vol. matter, 36-72 ; Fixed C., 54*52 ;
Ash, i -08 ; Sulphur, 1-24 per cent. ; but the coal varies in
character, and is only used locally.

9. Maruia-Matakitaka (Lower Tertiary). This basin lies
to the east of the preceding, and occupies a belt 30 miles long
and 2 miles wide from the Owen River to the Matakitaka.
Upper and lower Coal-Measures are represented, the upper, or
Oamaru, series having ten thin seams of brown coal, and the
lower, or Waimangaroa, series having several seams of bitu-
minous coal, ranging from 2 to 6 ft. in thickness. At Hampden
two seams of bituminous coal, 3 ft. and 4 ft. thick, give the
following analysis : Water, 1-2 ; Vol. matter, 38-8 ; Fixed C.,
56-4 ; Ash, 3-6 ; Sulphur, 1-2 per cent.

In the Owen area, an outlier of the lower measures of the
Maruia field lying south of the Buller River, there is a 6-ft.
seam of similar bituminous coal.

10. Malvern Hills (Upper Cretaceous). This coal-basin lies,
and the coal-seams occur, in isolated areas from the Rakaia
river northward to the Upper Waimakariri Valley at heights
of from 1,000 ft. to 3,000 ft. above sea-level. The coal is
ordinary brown coal, but, in patches of no great extent, has been
devolatilized and altered to anthracite by intrusive sheets of
basalt and dolerite. The strata have been considerably dis-
turbed and tilted by these intrusions, and are also cut up by
faults. The unaltered coal has from 20 to 28 per cent, moisture,
35 to 40 per cent, volatile matter, 30 to 40 per cent, fixed
carbon, 3 to 12 per cent, ash, and from i to 3^ per cent,
sulphur. In the altered coal, moisture and volatile matter
may each be reduced to 2 per cent. A seam, 6 to 7 ft. thick,

NEW ZEALAND 155

has been worked at Homebush Mine, in South Malvern district,
since 1873.

11. Kakahu (Miocene) .This is the principal undeveloped
area of brown coal of southern Canterbury, and is situated in
the Kakahu, a tributary of the Opihi River. Several seams
are found, the thickest varying from 4 to 7 ft.

Analysis of Coal

Moisture. Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

22-00 35-50 38-25 4-25 2-24

Coal is found at many points in the hills west of the Canter-
bury Plains, beneath which it probably extends as a syncline
to the sea, where, as quoted by Morgan [167], large pieces of
brown coal have been obtained by trawling at several places
from depths of 30 or 40 fathoms. Large fuel reserves may
therefore exist.

12. Shag Point (Upper Cretaceous). At the base of the
Waipara series, beneath 300 ft. of compact sandstone, there are
seven coal-seams, which are mostly thin. Three seams, varying
from 4 ft. to 6 ft. in thickness, are worked at Allandale Colliery,
the only producing mine. The coal is one of the best brown
coals, and has : Water, 16-57 > Vol. matter, 3370 ; Fixed C.,
43-15 ; Ash, 6-58 ; Sulphur, 2-10 to 4-20 per cent. Here, as
at Green Island, small rounded quartz pebbles are occasionally
found embedded in the coal.

13. Green Island (Miocene). This fairly extensive field, just
north of Dunedin, is supposed to extend southward beneath
Dunedin and Otago Peninsula, and contains an upper seam
2 ft. to 8 ft. thick, and a lower seam 6 ft. to 20 ft. thick. The
quality of the coal is rather inferior, and has : Water, 18*67
Vol. matter, 36-57 ; Fixed C., 40-84 ; Ash, 3-92 ; Sulphur, 2
to 2-4 per cent.

14. Milton-Kaitangata (Upper Cretaceous). This important
basin lies on the coast from 40 to 60 miles south-west of
Dunedin. It has an area of 65 sq. miles, and contains several
seams of brown coal individually fairly uniform in thickness,
of which four, aggregating 38 ft. of coal, are workable. The
strata are a good deal faulted. The chief mining is at the

156 BRITISH SOURCES OF COAL SUPPLY

Kaitangata end of the field, where at Kaitangata Colliery, the
largest producer, two seams, 35 ft. and 18 ft. thick, and at
Taratu a seam, from 14 to 20 ft. thick, are being worked. The
composition of these coals varies considerably. Analysis No. i
is given by Park as an average ; analysis No. 2 was made for
the writer in the Government Laboratory.

Moisture^ Vol. matter. F.C. Ash. Sulphur.

No. i, Average . 15*42 38-24 44-17 2-17 2 to 3
No. 2, Taratu outcrop 20-55 36-75 38-25 4-45

The annual output from this field is about 170,000 tons.

15. Nightcaps (Miocene). About 45 miles N.N.W. of Inver-
cargill, at the base of the Takitimu Mountains, superior brown
coal, resembling Waikato coals in the North Island, is found in
a belt 20 miles long over an area of 27 sq. miles. Three seams,
aggregating 36 ft. of good coal, are being mined. An average
analysis is : Moisture, 15 ; Vol. matter, 33 ; Fixed C., 47 ;
Ash, 5 ; Sulphur, about 0-5 per cent.

The small coal-field of Forest Hill lies some 20 miles north
of Invercargill, and contains coal of fair quality in a seam from
9J to nj ft. thick.

Orepuki Coal

Some 20 miles west of Riverton a small area contains an
irregular seam of rather shattered coal from 4 to 15 ft. thick.
The coal is similar, but inferior to Nightcaps coal.

Lignite

Lignite deposits of considerable extent in Central Otago
and in Southland are found at the base of Upper Miocene or
Older Pliocene beds, occupying the basins of former great
inland lakes. There is seldom more than one workable
seam, varying usually from 6 to 20 ft. in thickness. But at
Alexandria the main seam is 28 ft., at Clyde 44 ft., and near
Roxburgh a vertical seam is 100 ft. thick. The analysis is :
Water, 23 to 33 ; Vol. matter, 43 to 50 ; F.C., 15 to 25 ; Ash
4 to 9 per cent. ; Sulphur, well under i per cent. (P. G. Morgan).
These lignites, though low in calorific value (3,750 to 4,500

NEW ZEALAND

157

calories), have proved in the treeless districts of Central Otago
very useful in the gold-dredging and other industries.

In Southland, lignite, from 6 to 23 ft. thick, occurs from
Gore to Mataura, Wyndham and Clifton.

Output of Coal in New Zealand
Long Tons.

Year.

Bituminous and
Semi- Bituminous .

Brown Coal
and lignite.

Total.

1915
IQl6

1917
1918

1,267,940
1,422,074
1,247,989
1,122,308

940,684
835,061
820,430
820,942

2,208,624
2,257,135
2,068,419
2,034,250

Coal Reserves of New Zealand

Park [i65/p. 288] has estimated the workable coals, exclusive
of lignite and seams under 2 ft. thick, to be :

Bituminous coal
Pitch coal
Brown coal

254,500,000 tons
306,700,000 ,,
520,900,000 ,,

1,082,100,000

and that their probable life is 140 years.

P. G. Morgan [2/p. 86] (Geological Survey of New Zealand)
estimates :

Actual Reserve, less coal extracted
Probable Reserve .....
Possible Reserve, various coals, small to large.

1,001,000,000 met. tons.
2,385,000,000

The coals of New Zealand offer a peculiarly interesting field
of study, particularly in relation to the effect of dynamic
and other influences on the rate of dehydration and devolatiliza-
tion of the coals. It is interesting to conjecture to what extent
the marked differences in coals of the same horizon and even
of the same seams to be found in the Dominion are due to
original composition, to bio-chemical changes in the constituent
matter, and to subsequent dynamo-chemical influences.

ADDENDA .

IN addition to occurrences already described, there are several on which
little exploratory work has been carried out ; amongst these the following
may be mentioned :

KENIA

Carbonaceous material has been found at Mwele, south-west of Mombasa
[ 1 68], and similar material has been reported to occur on the Uasingishu Plateau.
Analyses made at the Imperial Institute gave: Mois., 13-05; Vol. Mat.,
27-80 ; F.C., 43-08 ; Ash, 16-07 ; CaL, 44-19. Indications of coal have
been also noted at Sumburu [169].

TANGANYIKA TERRITORY

Karroo coal-beds occur on the Songwe and Kivira Rivers, on the north-
west side of Lake Nyasa, at one place n metres of coal occurring in a total
thickness of 20-7 metres. A sample from one seam, 4-9 metres thick, gave :
C, 60-6 ; H, 3-0 ; O, 13-0 ; S., 0-25 ; Mois., 4-3 ; Ash, 18-5 ; Coke, 78-7 ; Cal, 56-57.
It is not improbable that coal will be found in the Karroo formation east of
Lake Tanganyika [170].

SOMALILAND

Sub-bituminous coal from a place 53 miles east of Berbera and 30 miles
south of Karam, examined at the Imperial Institute, gave : Mois., 13*01 ;
Vol. Mat., 35-16 ; F.C., 39-78 ; Ash, 12-05 ; S., 0-64 ; Cal., 56-61. The
coal burnt freely, but did not cake [171].

TRINIDAD

Coal has been found on the south coast between Oropuchy and Moruga.
An analysis of the material, which occurs in a seam 4 to 5 ft. thick, made
at the Imperial Institute, gave: Mois., 13-7; Vol. Mat., 32-9; F.C., 34-0;
Ash, 19-4 ; S., 5-06 ; Cal., 43-78. Lignite may also occur in quantity in the
districts of Chatham and Trois [172].

JAMAICA

Lignite of poor quality occurs and is used locally for fuel to a limited
extent. Samples from four places examined at the Imperial Institute showed :
16-5, 48-8, 60-5, and 70-7 per cent, of ash respectively.

WINDWARD ISLANDS

Blocks of anthracite are stated to be common in St. Andrew's parish,
Grenada, but the mineral has not been found in situ. A sample examined
at the Imperial Institute showed : Mois., 2-40 ; Vol. Mat., 4-35 ; F.C., 83-82 ;
Ash, 9-43 ; S., 0-54 ; Cal., 72-72.

BRITISH GUIANA

Lignite in from 8 to 10 ft. seams occurs near Yarum Creek, 40 miles south
of Georgetown on the Demarara river. A sample analysed at the Im-
perial Institute contained : Mois., 25-32 ; Vol. Mat., 33-52 ; F.C., 22-70 ;
Ash, 18-46; S., 5-26; Cal., 32-91.

158

APPENDIX
CALORIFIC POWER AND EVAPORATIVE POWER

THE calorific value or calorific power of a coal is the amount of heat
given out by completely burning a unit weight of coal, and is
measured by the number of corresponding units of weight of water
raised one degree in temperature by this amount of heat.

When the centigrade unit of temperature is used, the unit quantity
of heat is termed the Calorie, and when the Fahrenheit unit is used,
it is termed the British Thermal Unit (B.T.U.). To convert calories
into British Thermal Units we have to multiply by i'8.

The evaporative power of a coal is the number of units of weight
of water at boiling-point that can be converted into steam at the
same temperature by burning one corresponding unit weight of the
coal. It is obtained by dividing the latent heat of steam into the
calorific value, thus :

~ calorific value in calories

Evaporative power = -

_ calorific value in B.T.U.

967

To determine the calorific value, a known quantity of coal is burnt
completely in a special calorimeter, and the heat given off is measured
by the rise in temperature of a given quantity of water in the
calorimeter. Details of different calorimeters and their methods of
use are given in text-books.

As an illustration of the foregoing, if one unit weight of coal (HQ
matter what unit of weight be used) on complete combustion raise the
temperature of, say, 2,506 similar units of weight of water 3 C., then:
Calorific value = 2,506 x 3

= 7,518 Calories

= 7,518 x 1-8

= 13,532 B.T.U., and

Evaporative Power = j*

= X 4
159

REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL

(Publications referred to by Numerals in the Text)

GENERAL LITERATURE

[i] Buttenbach, Fr., " Geschichtliches iiber die Entwickelung des

800 jahrigen Stein-kolenbergbaues an der Worm," 1113,

1898.

[2] " Coal Resources of the World," 1913.
[3] " Colliery Guardian," August 12, 1898, 76, p. 300.
[4] Galloway, R. L., " Annals of Coal Mining and the Coal Trade,"

1898.
[5] Galloway, R. L., " History of Coal Mining in Great Britain,"

1882.

[6] " Mineral Industry," 1913, p. 121.
[7] Schweitzer, Ignaz, " Bergingenieur," Aachen, 1898.
[8] Smyth, W. W., " Treatise on Coal and Coal Mining," 1900.

UNITED KINGDOM
England

[9] CantriU, T. C., Q J.G.S., 51, 1895, p. 542.
[10] Hull, E., " The Coal Fields of Great Britain," 1905.
[n] Jevons, H. S., " The British Coal Trade," 1915.
[12] Jones, D., Geological Magazine, 8, 1871, p. 200.
[13] Scott, M. W. T., Journ. Geol. Soc., London, 17, 1861, p. 457.
[14] Sibley, T. E., " The Haematites of the Forest of Dean and

South Wales," 1919.

[15] Strahan and Pollard, " The Coals of South Wales," Mem. Geol.
Surv., 1908.

Scotland

[16] Dixon, J. S., Rept. Roy. Com. Coal Supplies, 1904.
[17] Geikie, A., " Textbook of Geology," 2, pp. 751-761, 1041-1045
(1903).

160

REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL 161

[18] Gibson, W., " Geology of Coal and Coal Mining."
[19] Slopes, M. C., Q.J.G.S., 63, 1907, pp. 375-382.

Ireland

[20] Geol. Surv., Mem. to Sheets 7 and 8, 1888.

[21] Geol. Surv., Mem. to Sheet 35, 1877.

[22] Geol. Surv., Mem. to Sheets 66 and 67, 1878.

[23] Hardman, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad., 2 sec., 2.

ASIA
British North Borneo

[24] Posewitz, T., " Borneo : its Geology and Mineral Resources " ;
trans, by F. H. Hatch, London, 1892, p. 287.

Federated Malay States

[25] Scrivenor, J. B., Report on Rantan PajangCoal Measures, 1911.
[26] Kenny, W. E., F.M.S., Mines Dept., Rept. for 1917.

India

[27] Ball, V., Rec. G.S.I., 10, 1877, pp. 170-173.

[28] Ball, V., Mem. G.S.I., 13, Art 2, 1877, P- 18.

[29] Ball, V., Mem. G.S.I., 6, 1867, p. 109.

[30] Ball, V., Mem. G.S.I., 8, 1872, p. 347.

[31] Ball, V., Mem. G.S.I., 15, 1878.

[32] Ball, V., Rec. G.S.I., 6, 1873, pp. 25-41.

[33] Ball, V., Rec. G.S.I., 15, 1882, p. in.

[34] Ball, V., Manual, Geol., India, Pt. 3, 1881, p. 84.

[35] Ball and Simpson, Mem. G.S.I., 41, 1913.

[36] Blanford and Theobald, Mem. G.S.I., 1, 1856, pp. 33-38.

[37] Blanford, Mem. G.S.I., 3, Art i, 1863.

[38] Blanford, Rec. G.S.I., 3, 1870, pp. 54-57.

[39] Blanford, Rec. G.S.I., 14, p. 59.

[40] Bose, Rec. G.S.I., 23, 1890, p. 237 ; 24, 1891, p. 212.

[41] Clarke, R. W., " Coal Mining in India," Trans. Inst. M.E., 22,

1901-2, p. 87.
[42] Dunstan, W. R., Imp. Inst. Tech. Repts., 1903, p. 321 ; Rec.

G.S.I., 33, 1906, p. 241.

[43] Fermor, L. L., Mem. G.S.I., 41, Pt. 2, 1914.
[44] Greenwell, G. H., Trans. Inst. Min. Eng., 45, 1913, pp. 88-105,.

and pp. 346-348.
[45] Griesbach, Rec. G.S.I., 26, 1893, pp. 113-147.

162 REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL

[46] Griesbach, Rec. G.S.I., 28, 1895, p. 117 ; 30, 1897, p. 4.

[47] Griesbach, C. L., Mem. G.S.I., 15, 1880, pp. 129-192.

[48] Harris, G. E., Trans. Manchester Geol. Soc., 26, p. 578.

[49] Hayden, H. H., Rec. G.S.I., 40, 1910, pp. 283-319.

[50] Holland, R.G.S.I., 31, 1904, p. 238.

(51] Holland and Ward, Mem. Geol. Inst. of India, 1, Pt. 3, 1907,

pp. 193-198-
(52] Hughes, F. C., Trans. Min. Geol. Inst. of India, 5, Pt. 2, 1910,

pp. 114-180.

[53] Hughes, J. W. H., Mem. G.S.I., 6, 1869, PP- 39~^-
[54] Hughes, J. W. H., Mem. G.S.I., 7, 1871.
[55] Hughes, J. W. H., Mem. G.S.I., 8, 1872, p. 321.
[56] Hughes, J. W. H., Mem. G.S.I., 21, 1885, and Appendix, p. 236.
[57] Hughes, J. W. H., Mem. G.S.I., 13, 1877.
[58] Hughes, J. W. H., Rec. G.S.I., 2, 1878, p. 22.
[59] India, Dept. Statistics, 1918.
[60] Jones, E. J., Mem. G.S.I., 24, Pt. I, 1887.
[61] King, W., Mem. G.S.I., 18, Pt. 3, 1881.
[62] King, W., Rec. G.S.I., 19, pp. 210-234, 1886 ; 20, pp. 194-202.
[63] Kirkup, J. P., Trans. Inst. M.E., 43, 1893, pp. 179-205.
[64] La Touche, T. D., Rec. G.S.I., 24, 1891, pp. 141-153.
[65] La Touche, T. D., Rec. G.S.I., 18, 1885, p. 31.
[66] La Touche, T. D., Rec. G.S.I., 15, pp. 175-178.
[67] La Touche, T. D., "A Bibliography of Indian Geology and

Physical Geology, with Annotated Index of Minerals of

Economic Value," Pts. I and 2, 1918.
[68] La Touche, T. D., Bibli. Ind. Geol., Pt. 2, 1918.
[69] La Touche, Rec. G.S.I., 27, 1894, pp. 16-33.
[70] Lala Hira Lai, M.S. Report, 1885-87.
[71] Lala Hira Lai, M.S. Report, 1886-87.
[72] Maclaren, J. M., Rec. G.S.I., 31, 1904, pp. 188-191.
[73] Mallett, Mem. G.S.I., 12, Pt. 2, 1876, p. 81.
[74] Mallet, Mem. G.S.I., 11, 1874 ; Rec. G.S.I., 10, 1913, 1877,

P- 143.
[75] Medlicott, H. B., Rec. G.S.I., 1, pp. 11-16 (1868) ; 7, pp. 58-62

[76] Medlicott, H. B., Rec. G.S.I., 8, 1875, p. 65 ; 16, 1883, p. 2.

[77] Mort, A., Trans. Min. Geol. Inst., India, 7, pp. 295-317.

[78] Oldham, Mem. G.S.I., 1, p. 185.

[79] Pascoe, E. H., Rec. G.S.I., 41, 1912, pp. 214-216.

[80] Phillips, W. H., Trans. Min. Geol. Inst., India, 6, 1911, pp. 43-56.

[81] Reader, G. F., Mem. G.S.I., 32, p. 89, 1901.

REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL 163

[82] Robertson, E. H., Trans. Min. Geol. Inst., India, 13, pp. 48-61,.

1918.

[83] Saise, Rec. G.S.I., 10, 1875, p. 156.
[84] Saise, Rec. G.S.I., 27, 1894.
[85] Saise, 1904.

[86] Simpson, Rec. G.S.I., 31, 1904, pp. 9-34.
[87] Simpson, Mem. G.S.I., 32, 1904, pp. 189-263.
[88] Simpson, Rec. G.S.I., 34, 1906, pp. 198-238.
[89] Smith, Mem. G.S.I., 28, 1900, p. 93.
[90] Ward, Rec. G.S.I., 25, 1892, pp. 110-113.

AFRICA J
Nyasaland
[91] Imp. Inst. Rept. on Min. Surv., 1906-9; Col. Rept., Misc.

Ser., Cd. 3916, 4908, 5900.
[92] Andrew and Bailey, Q.J.G.S., 66, 1910, p. 189.

Union of South Africa

[93] Anderson, W., G.S. Natal and Zululand, 2nd Rept., 1904.

[94] Du Toit, Proc. Geol. Soc., S. Africa, 1918, 21.

[95] Garrard, Trans. Geol. Soc., S. Africa, 17, 1914.

[96] Hatch and Corstorphine, Geol. of S. Africa, p. 223.

[97] Kynaston, Trans. Mines Dept., Geol. Surv. Mem., No. 2, 1906.

[98] Kynaston, Trans. Geol. Soc., S. Africa, 10, 1907, pp. 31-35.

[99] Mellor, Trans. Geol. Surv., Transvaal, No. 3, 1906.
[100] Mellor, Trans. Geol. Soc., S. Africa, 8, 1905, pp. 33-37.
[101] Molengraaff, " Geology of the Transvaal," 1904, p. 77.
[102] Rogers and Du Toit, " The Geology of Cape Colony," 1909.
[103] Schwartz, " South African Geology," p. 160, 1912.

Rhodesia

[I03A] Maufe, H. B., " The Coal Resources of Rhodesia, G.S.
Bull. No. 4, 1914, p. 59.

Southern Nigeria

[104] Imp. Inst. Bull., 14, 1916, p. 369-78.
[105] Imp. Inst. Rept. on Min. Surv., 1910-2 ; Col. Rept.,
Misc. Ser., Cd. 6425, 7067, 7110.

NORTH AMERICA

Canada

[106] Bell, J. M., Ontario Bureau of Mines, I3th Rept., p. 161.
[107] Cairnes, D. D., G.S. Dept. of Mines, Canada, 1908, pp. ,20-24.

1 For Kenia, Tanganyika Territory and Somaliland, see p. 166.

164 REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL

[108] Cairnes, D. D., Geol. Surv., Dept. of Mines, Canada, 1910,

PP. 48-55.

[109] Canada, Dept. Mines, Mines Branch, No. 478, 1918, pp. 14, 15.
[no] Canada, Mines Branch, Bull. No. 25.
[m] Denis, T. C., " Coalfields of Canada," in " Coals of Canada,"

by Porter and Durley.
[112] Dowling, D. B., Canadian Mining Institute, Bull., June 15,

1911, pp. 87-207.

[113] Gray, F. W., Canada, Mines Branch, Bull. No. 14, 1917.
[114] Herington, C. F., " Powdered Coal as a Fuel," London,

[115] McConnell, R. G., Ann. Rept. Geol. Surv., Canada, 13, pp.

44 A, 49 A ; 14, pp. 23 B ; 15, pp. 41 A-42 A.
[116] Porter and Durley, " An Investigation of the Coals of Canada,

with reference to their economic qualities," 1912.
[117] Porter and Durley, Coals of Canada, 1, 1912.
[118] Porter and Durley, Coals of Canada, 2, Table 62.
[119] Rands and Gilling, Board of Science and Art, Bull. No. I,

Wellington, New Zealand, 1918.
[120] Stansfield and Nicholls, " Analyses of Canadian Fuels,"

Mines Branch, Bull. No. 26, Pt. 5, 1918, pp. 5-9.
[121] Trans. Inst. Min. Engineers (England), 46, Pt. I, pp. 23-61.
[122] White, J., " Fuels of Western Canada," Commission of Con-

servation, 1918.

AUSTRALASIA
New South Wales

.[123] Annual Rept., Dept. of Mines, N.S.W., for 1891.
[124] Carne, J. E., Ann. Rept., Dept. Mines, N.S.W. for 1917, p. 153.
[125] Carne, J. E., Mem. Geol. Surv., N.S.W., Geology No. 6, 1908.
[126] David, T. W. E., Mem. Geol. Surv., N.S.W., Geology No. 4,

1907.

[127] Dunstan, B., Queensland Geol. Surv., Pub. No. 252, 1915.
[128] Dunstan, B., " Geol. of Dawson and Mackenzie Rivers,"

Q.G.S. 1901 (Brisbane, 1901).

[129] Harper, L. F., Mem. Geol. Surv., N.S.W., Geology No. 7, 1907.
[130] Jack, R. L., " On the Bowen River Coalfield," 1879,

p. 44.
[131] Pittman, E. F., "The Coal Resources of N.S.W.," Geol.

Surv., N.S.W., 1912.

REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL 165

[132] Pittman, E. F., " Mineral Resources of N.S.W.," 1901,

P- 324-
[133] Walkom, A. B., Queensland Geol. Surv., Pub. No. 259, 1917,

p. 28.

[134] Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia, No. 6, p. 569,
No. 9, p. 517.

Queensland

[135] Dunstan, B., Annual Mines Rept. for 1914.

[136] Dunstan, B., Queensland Gov. Surv., Pub. No. 254, 1916, p. 6.

[137] Dunstan, B., Annual Mines Rept. for 1915, p. 211.

[138] Dunstan, B., Queensland Gov. Surv., No. 241, 1913.

[139] Dunstan, B., " Coal Resources of Queensland," Queensland

Gov. Surv., No. 239, 1918.

[140] Dunstan, B., Queensland Gov. Surv., No. 255, 1918, p. 13.
[141] " Geological Features of Maryborough District," Q.G.M.

Journal, Dec. 1912, pp. 641-642.
[142] Reid, J. H., Q.G.S., Pub. No. 254, 1916, p. 19.
[143] Walkom, A. B., " The Flora of the Maryborough (Marine)

Series." Q.G.S., Pub. No. 262, Pt. 2, 1918.

South Australia

[144] Mining Review, No. 27, Dept. Mines, S. Aust., 1918, pp. 34-51.
[145] Ward, L. K., Min. Review, No. 20, Dept. Mines, S. Aust.,
1914, pp. 40-41.

Tasmania

[146] Bertrand, C. E., Bull. Soc., Hist. Nat. Autun., 9, 1896.

[147] Bertrand, C. E., and Renault, B., Ann. Soc., Geol. Nord, 20,
1892, pp. 213-259.

[148] Carne, J. E., Mem. Geol. Surv., N.S.W., No. 3, 1903.

[149] Compt. Rend., Congres, Geol., Paris, 117, 1893, p. 593.

[150] Compt. Rend., Congres, Geol., Paris, 1900, p. 458.

[151] Hills, L., Geol. Surv., Tas., Bull. No. 13, 1912.

[152] Jeffrey, E. C., " On the Nature of the so-called Algal or Bog-
head Coals, Rhodora," 11, 1909, p. 61.

[153] Twelvetrees, W. H., Geol. Sur., Tas., Bull. No. 20, 1915.

[154] Twelvetrees, W. H., Geol. Sur., Tas., Bull. No. n, 1912,
pp. 108-110.

[155] White, D., " Some Problems of the Formation of Coal,"
Economic Geology, 3, 1908, pp. 292-318.

166 REFERENCES TO LITERATURE ON COAL

Victoria

[156] Ann. Dept. of Sec. for Mines, for 1917, Victoria.
[157] Herman, H., Geol. Surv., Viet., Bull. 34, 1914.
[158] Herman, etc., " Rept. of Advisory Committee on Brown
Coal," Viet., 1917.

West Australia

[159] Maitland, A. G., Geol. Surv., W. Aust., Bull. No. 50, p. 18.
[160] Maitland, A. G., Geol. Surv., W. Aust., Bull. No. 64, p. 9.
[161] Woodward, H. P., Geol. Surv., W. Aust., Bull. No. 64, p. 104.

New Zealand

[162] Bell, G. M., Geol. Surv. N.Z., 1910, p. 10.

[163] Morgan, Geol. Surv., Dept. Mines, N.Z., Bull. No. 17 (New

Series), 1917, p. 74.
[164] Morgan, Geol. Surv. Branch, Dept. Mines, N.Z., Bull. No. 13,

1911.

[165] Park, G., " Geology of New Zealand," 1910.
[166] Park, G., Geol. Explorations, N.Z., 1890, No. 20, pp. 49-60.
[167] Speight, R., Trans. N.Z., Institute, 43, 1911, pp. 421-422.

ADDENDA

Kenia

[168] Imp. Inst. Bull., 10, 1912, p. 452.

[169] Maufe, H. B., Col. Rept. Misc. Ser. No. 45, 1908, Cd. 3828.

Tanganyika Territory
[170] Imp. Inst. Bull., 12, 1914, p. 591.

Somaliland
[171] Imp. Inst. Bull., 13, 1915, p. 189.

Trinidad
[172] Imp. Inst. Bull., 10, 1912, p. 434.

Printed by Hatell, Watson & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury, England.

YB 15539

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIB

>ERIAI INSTITUTE SERIES OF HANDBOOKS TO THE
V1MERCIAL RESOURCES OF THE TROPICS, WITH
PECIAL REFERENCE TO BRITISH WEST AFRICA

ED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR

THE COLONIES

IDITED BY WYNDHAM R. DUNSTAN, C.M.G., M.A., LL.D F.R.S.

TOR OF THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE j PRESIDENT OF THE INTERNATIONA NATION

FOR TROPICAL AGRICULTURE

[E AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST T-

DUCTS OF BRITISH WEST AFRICA. By o C.

DUDGEON, Consulting Agriculturist, Ministry of Agriculture,
Egypt ; lately Inspector of Agriculture for British West Africa.
Pp. x + 170. With Maps and Illustrations. Demy 8vo.
Price 6s. net.

COA : Its Cultivation and Preparation. By

W. H. JOHNSON, F.L.S., Director of Agriculture in Southern
Nigeria, and formerly Director of Agriculture in the Gold Coast
and in the Territories of the Mozambique Company, Portu-
guese East Africa. Pp. ix -j- 186. With Illustrations.. 6s. net.

STENTS: Historical Botanical Climatic Requirements of Cocoa Trees Soil Requirements
Cocoa Tree Laying out a Cocoa Plantation Shading and Inter-crops for Cocoa Propaga-
3 lanting, Cultivating, and Pruning Manuring Results of Manurial Experiments in Various
ies Diseases Vegetable Parasites and Epiphytes Harvesting and Transporting Cocoa
to Fermenting- Houses The Science of Cocoa Fermentation Methods of Fermentation in
in Various Countries Washing and Drying Cocoa Yields and Expenditure Commercial
; its Manufacture and Uses.

BBER. By HAROLD BROWN, Technical Super-
intendent, Scientific and Technical Department, Imperial Insti-
tute. Pp. xiii + 245. With Illustrations. 6s. net.

N'TRNTS : Introduction Rubber in British Africa The Principal Rubber-yielding Plants
-The Tapping of Rubber Plants The Preparation of Rubber The Chemistry of Rubber
cs of Consumption and Prices -The Para Rubber Tree The Ceara Rubber Tree The
i Rubber Tree The African Rubber Vines The Central American Rubber Tree The
Rubber Tree and Other Species of Ficus.

TTON AND OTHER VEGETABLE FIBRES:

Their Production and Utilisation. By ERNEST GOULDING,
D.Sc., F.I.C., Scientific and Technical Department, Imperial
Institute. 2nd Edition. Pp. x + 241. With Illustrations.
73. 6d. net.

XTENTS : Introductory Cotton Cotton Production in the Principal Countries and the
Commercial Varieties Cotton Growing in British We^t Africa and Other Parts of the
F.mnire Flax TTemn Sunn Hemn Rnmie Tnte and Tute Substitutes-- Manila Hemp