The available coal resources for eight 7.5-minute quadrangles in the southern Emery Coalfield, Emery and Sevier Counties, Utah (SS-112)

By: J. C. Quick, D. E. Tabet, B. P. Hucka, and S. I. Wakefield

About 2.4 billion tons of coal are available for mining in the southern Emery coalfield, Utah. This includes about 200 million tons of surface-minable coal and 2.2 billion tons of underground-minable coal. Sixty percent of the available coal identified in this study is a demonstrated resource (within 0.75 miles of a measurement location) and the remainder is less reliably identified.

The available coal resource includes eight coalbeds, which are named (in ascending stratigraphic order) the A, CD, G, I, J, K, L, and M coalbeds. Maps and associated tables showing the distribution and quantity of the available coal are provided for each coalbed (appendix). Over 75 percent of the available coal is in three coalbeds: the A bed (30%), the CD bed (25%), and the I bed (22%). Coal rank varies from high-volatile B bituminous in the north, to subbituminous A in the south. Average sulfur content is above 2 pounds sulfur per million Btu (lbs S/106 Btu) in the upper coalbeds, but is markedly lower in the underlying, and economically more significant, A (1.1 lbs S/106 Btu), CD (0.9 lbs S/106 Btu), and I (0.8 lbs S/106 Btu) coalbeds. Available data show that the in-ground coal averages 11 pounds mercury per trillion Btu.

Considering coalbed thickness, distribution, and current mining practices, we estimate that about 500 million tons of the 2.4-billion-ton available coal resource might be recovered from the southern Emery coalfield. This tonnage is sufficient to satisfy Utah?s current coal consumption for about 20 years.

Other Information:
Published: 2004
Pages: 37 p.
Location: Emery and Sevier Counties
Media Type: Paper Publication