Coal resources and Cenozoicgeology of the girard coal field, Richland County, Montana

Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1975 · U.S. Geol. Surv., Bull.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6686149

Prichard, G E; Landis, E R

The Girard coal field in easternmost Richland County, Montana, is an area of about 1,035 sq miles. The field contains estimated original resources of 5,107.4 million tons of lignite. Measured and indicted resources in beds 5 to 10 ft thick 388.8 million tons, and measured and indicated resources in beds more than 10 ft thick total 155.9 million tons, and much of this coal is overlain by less than 200 ft of overburden. The coal is ranked as lignite A, with heat content ranging between 7,000 and 8,000 btu/lb on the moist mineral-matter-free basis. The average ash content is about 8%, and the average sulfur content is about 0.7%. Twenty-eight townships in the coal field contain estimated resources of lignite. A very large part, about 87%, of the estimated resources are inferred because of lack of data about thickness and continuity of the coal beds underlying broad interstream divides and gravel-capped upland terraces. Bedrock throughout the coal field is the coal-bearing Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation of Paleocene age. (47 refs.)

• OSTI ID: 6686149
• Journal Information: U.S. Geol. Surv., Bull.; (United States), Journal Name: U.S. Geol. Surv., Bull.; (United States) Vol. 1310; ISSN XGLBA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
011000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
BROWN COAL
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CENOZOIC ERA
COAL
COAL DEPOSITS
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VIII
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
LIGNITE
MATERIALS
MINERAL RESOURCES
MONTANA
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
RESOURCES
STRATIGRAPHY
USA