��

Coal Mine Maps CompletedMaps of abandoned mines have been completed for nine 7.5-minute quadrangles in Grundy, Williamson, Livingston, McLean, and Gallatin Counties. The maps are accompanied by directories containing detailed information about the mine histories and sources of information. Paper and digital versions

of the maps have been delivered to the project sponsors, Illinois Department of Transportation and the Illinois Mine Subsidence Insurance Fund, and released to the public. The maps will be valuable for government agencies, planners and developers, and private citizens in identifying undermined areas.

Coal OutreachISGS geologists recently had two good opportunities to share coal information with interested audiences. An ISGS senior geologist presented a talk on coal mining to the Fayette County Soil and Water Conservation District in Vandalia. The audience of 250 farmers was concerned about proposed longwall mining in Fayette County. The talk and question-and-answer session focused on mining methods (longwall vs. room-and-pillar) and on the causes and types of ground subsidence.

Two ISGS Coal Section geologists presented a program on coal and coal bed methane potential in Effingham County at the Effingham County Farm Bureau. The geologists discussed multiple posters showing coal thickness, depth, and other information about the county. The posters were then donated to the Effingham Farm Bureau. Also on the program was a Farm Bureau attorney who spoke on mineral rights ownership, severed titles, recovery of titles, and related issues. There was lively discussion by the presenters and the nearly 50 farmers present, and many thanks were expressed to the ISGS for its contributions to the program.

During summer 2006, ISGS staff members participated in the 2006 Coal Education Conference, which was sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic

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A Guide to Coal Availability and Resource Development in Illinois

µ

Region 2

Region 1

Region 3

Springfield (No. 5) CoalSteven R. Gustison, Philip M. Johanek, Robert J. Finley, Illinois State Geological Survey

Illinois State Geological Survey gratefully acknowledges thefunding for this project from the Illinois Department of Commerceand Economic Opportunity, Office of Coal Development; 620East Adams Street; Springfield, IL 62701-1615.

1:250,0000 8 16 24 324

Miles0 8 16 24 324

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#0 Estimated 50 year Low Flow in mgd

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$ Potential Reservoir Sites in mgd

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Areas of Concern

Of the 65.1 billion tons of the original resources of the Springfield Coal in Illinois, 63 billion tons, or 97%,remain; the Springfield Coal is the second-largest remaining coal resource in the state. The other 2.2 billiontons have been mined or were lost in mining during the more than 100 years Illinois coal has been mined. Thedegree to which this remaining resource is used in the future depends on the availability of deposits that canbe mined at a cost that is competitive with other coals and alternative fuels. This report identifies thoseresources that have the most favorable geologic and land-use characteristics for mining, shows the probabletrend of future mining of these resources, and alerts mining companies to geologic conditions that have apotentially negative impact on mining costs.

Approximately 41% of the original Springfield Coal resources (27 billion tons) is available for mining. Availablemeans that the surface land-use and geologic conditions related to mining of the deposit (e.g., thickness,depth, in-place tonnage, stability of bedrock overburden) are comparable to other coals currently being minedin the state. Of these resources, 23 billion tons are 42 to 66 inches thick, and 4 billion tons are greater than 66inches thick.

The available resources are primarily located in the central and southeastern portions of the state (mapregions 2 and 3 on the key map) and are well suited for high-efficiency longwall mining. The resources arerelatively flat-lying; have a consistent seam thickness over large areas; are relatively free of faults, channels,or other geologic anomalies; are located predominantly in rural areas free from oil wells and other surfacedevelopment; and are situated in minable blocks of hundreds of millions of tons. Whether or not the resourcesare ultimately mined is still dependent on other factors that have not been assessed, including the willingnessof local landowners to lease the coal, demands for a particular quality of coal, accessibility of transportationinfrastructure, proximity of the deposit to markets, and cost and availability of competing fuels.

About 62 billion tons of the remaining Springfield Coal resources have greater than 2.5 pounds of sulfur permillion BTU and are therefore mostly suited for the high-sulfur coal market. Only 1.4 billion tons of theSpringfield resources have a sulfur content of 0.6 to 1.7 pounds per million BTU. However, the majority ofthese medium- to low-sulfur resources (1 billion tons) are classified as available or available with conditions.Technological factors, such as geologic conditions associated with faults and channels, are the primaryrestrictions on mining these lower-sulfur deposits.

An additional 3 billion tons of the Springfield Coal resources are available but have geologic or land-useconditions that may make them less desirable for mining. Technological factors (geologic conditions andengineering parameters such as size of reserve block) restrict mining of 46% of the resources, and land use(e.g., towns, highways) restricts mining of 5% of the resources.

Most of the available Springfield Coal resources will be mined by underground methods. Of the 63 billion tonsof original resources that are at least 75 feet deep (and therefore potentially minable by undergroundmethods), 41% (26 billions tons) is available for underground mining. An additional 4% is available but withconditions that make the resources less desirable. These conditions include the presence of closely spacedoil wells, less stable roof strata, or close proximity to developing urban areas. The major technological factorsthat restrict underground mining are thin interburden between the Springfield Coal and an overlying seam(17%), coal less than 42 inches thick (14%), and unfavorable thicknesses of bedrock and unconsolidatedoverburden (13%). Land use restricts underground mining of 5% of the original resources, and 3% hasalready been mined or lost in mining.

Only about 8 billion tons of the original Springfield Coal resource lie at depths of less than 200 feet and arepotentially minable by surface methods. Of these resources, 15% has already been mined and 12% (justunder 1 billion tons) is available for surface mining. Land-use factors, primarily towns, restrict 16% of theresources. Technological factors, primarily the stripping ratio and thick unconsolidated material, restrict 57%of the surface-minable resources.

To avoid high mining costs resulting from unfavorable geologic conditions, companies siting undergroundmines should avoid areas of thick drift and thin bedrock cover, close proximity to the Galatia Channel andfaults, areas of closely spaced oil wells, and areas at the margins of the Dykersburg Shale. The areas of low-cost surface-minable resources (areas with low stripping ratios that are free of conflicting land uses) arelimited and will only support small, limited-term operations.

From Treworgy, C.G., C.P. Korose, C.A. Chenoweth, and D.L. North, 1999, Availability ofthe Springfield Coal for mining in Illinois: Champaign, Illinois State Geological Survey,Illinois Minerals 118, 48 p.

Underground Mining Technological RestrictionsMinimum seam thickness 42 in.Minimum bedrock cover 75 ftMinimum ratio of bedrock to unconsolidated overburden 1:1Minimum interburden between minable seams 40 ftMinimum size of mining block (clean coal) 40 million tonsFaults (width of zone of no mining )

Cottage Grove Fault SystemMaster faultSubsidiary fault

Rend Lake Fault SystemCentralia FaultWabash Valley Fault System

500 to 1,000 ft100 ft200 ft300 ft800 ft

Galatia Channel, no mining within 0.5 miDykersburg ShalePartings

Minimum yieldMaximim thickness

*

not usednot used

Land-use Restrictions (width of unminable coal around feature)Surface and underground mines 200 ftTowns 0 ftSubdivisions not usedChurches and schools not usedCemeteries not usedHigh-voltage transmission towers not usedInterstate highways 100 ftMajor airports 100 ftDams 100 ft

Available with ConditionsClosely spaced oil wells 4 - 7 wells per

40 acresPotential land-use conflicts

All otherwise available undergroundminable coal within areas where land-usepatterns are incompatible with mining identified

Coal quality limitations noneBedrock cover 75 - 100 ftDykersburg Shale *

* In this study, the transition zone at the edge of the Dykersburg Shale is identifiedas a zone of potentially unstable roof but not used as a restriction. In theSpringerton and Albion South Quadrangles, there was no mining in areas withabrupt changes in Dykersburg Shale thickness.

Map showing the availability and resource development of the Springfield Coal in the central portion of Illinois.

Diagram of a modern longwall coal mining method. All coal is removed along a straight mining face, forming a sharply defined panel with no remaining coal support except a row of pillars between panels.