Central Appalachia: Production potential of low-sulfur coal

Technical Report · Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5369544

Watkins, J ^[1]

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1. Hill and Associates, Inc., Annapolis, MD (United States)

The vast preponderance of eastern US low sulfur and 1.2-lbs SO{sub 2}/MMBtu compliance coal comes from a relatively small area composed of 14 counties located in eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia and western Virginia. These 14 counties accounted for 68% of all Central Appalachian coal production in 1989 as well as 85% of all compliance coal shipped to electric utilities from this region. A property-by-property analysis of total production potential in 10 of the 14 counties (Floyd, Knott, Letcher, Harlan, Martin and Pike in Kentucky and Boone, Kanawha, Logan and Mingo in West Virginia) resulted in the following estimates of active and yet to be developed properties: (1) total salable reserves for all sulfur levels were 5.9 billion tons and (2) 1.2-lbs. SO{sub 2}/MMBtu compliance'' reserves totaled 2.38 billion tons. This potential supply of compliance coal is adequate to meet the expanded utility demand expected under acid rain for the next 20 years. Beyond 2010, compliance supplies will begin to reach depletion levels in some areas of the study region. A review of the cost structure for all active mines was used to categorize the cost structure for developing potential supplies. FOB cash costs for all active mines in the ten counties ranged from $15 per ton to $35 per ton and the median mine cost was about $22 per ton. A total of 47 companies with the ability to produce and ship coal from owned or leased reserves are active in the ten-county region. Identified development and expansion projects controlled by active companies are capable of expanding the region's current production level by over 30 million tons per year over the next twenty years. Beyond this period the issue of reserve depletion for coal of all sulfur levels in the ten county region will become a pressing issue. 11 figs., 12 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Hill and Associates, Inc., Annapolis, MD (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5369544
• Report Number(s): EPRI-IE-7116-Vol.1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
APPALACHIA
COAL SEAMS
COAL
FUEL SUPPLIES
ACID RAIN
COAL MINING
KENTUCKY
RESERVES
SULFUR CONTENT
VIRGINIA
WEST VIRGINIA
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
COAL DEPOSITS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY SUPPLIES
FEDERAL REGION III
FEDERAL REGION IV
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
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RAIN
RESOURCES
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011000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
012000 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Mining