Demonstrated reserve base of coal in the United States on January 1, 1979

Technical Report · Fri May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:6558321

The Demonstrated Reserve Base (DRB) of coal in the United States, totaling an estimated 475 billion tons as of January 1, 1979, is widely distributed geographically, with 45 percent occurring in States east of the Mississippi River and 55 percent occurring in western States and Alaska. However, quantities of different ranks as well as the amounts amenable to production by underground and surface methods vary markedly in different areas. Bituminous coal comprises 242 billion tons (51 percent) of the DRB and is concentrated primarily in the States east of the Mississippi River. Subbituminous coal accounts for 182 billion tons (38 percent) of the DRB and is located entirely in the West. Lignite accounts for 43 billion tons (9 percent) of the DRB, nearly all of which is located in the West and, conversely, anthracite comprises 7 billion tons (1 percent) of the DRB, practically all of which lies in the East, predominantly in the States of Pennsylvania. States with the largest minable coal tonnages, ranked in the order named, are Montana, Wyoming, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. The coalbeds of Montana and Wyoming, however, consist principally of lower rank subbituminous coal while the coal of the four eastern states are all bituminous or higher in rank. DRB coal potentially minable by underground methods accounts for 67 percent (318 billion tons) of the total DRB compared to 33 percent (156 billion tons) considered potentially minable by surface methods. Tonnages of DRB coal are tabulated by potential mining method and delineated by rank. While the higher rank delineated, bituminous and anthracite, are predominantly minable by underground methods, nearly two-thirds of subbituminous coal also is potentially minable by this method. Conversely, lignite is potentially minable by surface methods only.

• Research Organization: USDOE Energy Information Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Coal and Electric Power Statistics
• OSTI ID: 6558321
• Report Number(s): DOE/EIA-0280(79)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
294001 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Coal
ANTHRACITE
BITUMINOUS COAL
BLACK COAL
BROWN COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CENTRAL REGION
COAL
COAL MINING
COAL RANK
COAL RESERVES
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GREAT LAKES REGION
ILLINOIS
INFORMATION
KENTUCKY
LIGNITE
MATERIALS
MINING
MONTANA
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PENNSYLVANIA
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
RESERVES
RESOURCE ASSESSMENT
RESOURCES
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
SOUTHEAST REGION
SUBBITUMINOUS COAL
USA
WEST VIRGINIA
WYOMING