USGS PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1625-C, 2000 RESOURCE ASSESSMENT OF SELECTED COAL BEDS AND ZONES IN THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL APPALACHIAN BASIN COAL REGIONS

摘要

The Appalachian Basin is one of the most important coal-producing regions in the world and includes parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee. Almost all of the coal now mined in the Appalachian Basin is used in eastern states to generate electricity. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studied 12 of the more than 50 producing coal beds in the Appalachian Basin; five key coal beds were digitally assessed in detail. The five assessed coal beds account for about 12 percent of the Nation's total coal production. Total original resources for the five assessed coal beds are estimated at about 93 billion short tons, of which about 66 billion short tons remain, A little more than a billion short tons of coal are mined each year in the United States.