by Barry Ryan, 2002
|
Introduction
Coal in British Columbia, which is
Jurassic or younger in age, varies in rank from lignite to anthracite and
is distributed through out the province.
There is estimated to be an ultimate coal resource available for
surface or shallow underground mining of over 20 billion tonnes in the
province. The coal resource
to a depth of 2000 metres that is of interest for coalbed methane (CBM)
exploration is over 250 billion tonnes.
Tonnages mentioned in the text are estimates of measured resources
available for underground or surface mining only (Table 1).
The major coalfields in British
Columbia follow the northwest trending belt of Jura-Cretaceous rocks,
which parallels the Rocky Mountain foothills in the northeast and
southeast of the province (Fig. 1). The geology is characterized by folds and thrusts,
which can make underground mining difficult; but combinations of
topography and dipping coal measures often produce attractive open pit
mining potential. The
Kootenay coalfields, in southeast, host 5 coal mines with proven in-place
reserves of over 1.3 billion tonnes.
Coal rank is generally medium-volatile bituminous but varies from
high-volatile bituminous to low-volatile bituminous. The Peace River
coalfield in northeast has in-place mineable resources of over 1 billion
tonnes of mainly medium-volatile bituminous coal, though high-volatile and
low-volatile bituminous resources also occur1.
The coalfield hosts two coal mines but there is active exploration
in the field and on at least one property is in the permitting stage as a
prelude to obtaining a mining lease.
Other important coalfields are found
in the interior of the province and on Vancouver Island.
On the Island there are two upper Cretaceous coalfields.
The southern Nanaimo coalfield is largely mined-out and contains an
underground mineable in-place resource of less than 10 million tonnes of
high-volatile bituminous coal. The
northern Comox Coalfield, which hoists the Quinsam Mine, contains an
underground mineable measured resource of over 90 million tonnes of
high-volatile coal.2. In
the interior of the province there is a surface mineable proven resource
of about 85 million tonnes of anthracite in the Klappan Coalfield.
The probable resource of the combined Klappan and Groundhog
coalfields, which are Jura-Cretaceous in age, is over 1.5 billion tonnes3.
There are a number of smaller Cretaceous or Tertiary deposits in
the interior of the province. By far the largest is the Eocene Hat Creek deposit, which has
proven mineable reserves of about 500 million tonnes of lignite to sub
bituminous coal and an ultimate resource that may exceed 10 billion tonnes.
There are plans to start a small thermal coal mine on the Tertiary
Tulameen property (Fig. 1). The property contains a proven reserve of about 20 million
tonnes of surface mineable high-volatile bituminous coal.
Most of the coal exported from British
Columbia comes from the Kootenay and Peace River coalfields and is a
medium-volatile coking coal similar in quality to many Permian coals
exported from Australia. British
Columbia export coals are characterized by variable or moderate contents
of inertinite coal macerals, moderate fluidity and low contents of
alkalies in the ash. These
characteristics generally improve both hot and cold coke strength and
decrease coke oven pressure6,7.
The Quinsam Mine exports thermal coal and the Willow Creek mine a
high rank thermal or PCI coal. About
half the export coal is destined for Japan and most of the rest to Europe,
Korea and South America. The
province uses very little coal internally as most electricity in the
province is generated by hydro power.
Coal Mining and Exploration Update
Over
700 million tonnes of coal have been mined in British Columbia in the period
1836 to 2001.
About 140 million tonnes of this total was produced prior to 1970.
Since 1970, a number of new mines in the Peace River and Kootenay
coalfields opened and production has climbed gradually to 25.8 million
tonnes in 1989.
Production in 2001 was about 27.2 million tones, a substantial
increase from 25.4 million tonnes in 2000.
Production peaked at 27.8 million tonnes in 1997.
Production comes from three regions in the province.
Metallurgical and thermal coal is mined at five open pit mines in the
southeast East Kootenay Coalfields (Fig. 1).
Metallurgical coal is mined from the Bullmoose Mine and thermal and
PCI coal from the Willow Creek mine in the Peace River Coalfield.
Thermal coal is mined at the underground Quinsam Mine in the Comox
Coalfield on Vancouver Island.
Metallurgical
and thermal coal prices increased in 2001 and the market was in balance or
slightly under supplied for metallurgical coal.
Most mines were able to take advantage of the improved market by
increasing production.
The Quinsam Mine continued to recover from financial difficulties but
has not yet re entered the off shore export market and sells most of its
coal to local cement plants.
The clean coal production (million tonnes)
| |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
| Metallurgical |
23 |
24.3 |
26 |
| Thermal |
1.2 |
1.1 |
1.2 |
| Total |
24.2 |
25.4 |
27.2
|
In
2001 exploration expenditure on existing mine leases totalled about 4.8
million Can$.
Exploration expenditure on exploration licenses aimed at developing
new mines totalled about 1.6 million Can$.
There was exploration on a number of properties in Peace River
Coalfield by Western Canadian Coal Corporation.
Compliance Mining continued development work on the Tulameen
property with the hope of starting a small thermal coal mine in 2002. On
Vancouver Island Priority Ventures Limited drilled 3 holes in the Comox
Coalfield as a combined coal and CBM exploration program.
Coalbed Methane in British Columbia
It
is not the intent in this review to discuss in detail the CBM resource or
exploration activity in the province.
The Province has substantial potential resources of CBM (Fig. 1,
Table 2)
and with increasing natural gas prices a number of companies have shown
interest in attempting to develop these resources.
There is a major ongoing exploration program conducted by Encana
north of the Fording River mine, and a number of test holes have been
drilled in the Peace River Coalfield.
Expenditures on CBM exploration and land acquisition in 2001 probably
totalled over 50 million $Can.
At
present there are no producing CBM wells in British Columbia.
A number of papers and reports discussing the CBM potential of the
province exist and information about them is available from the author.
Coalfields of British Columbia
The major coalfields (Table
3) of British Columbia are grouped into
Rocky Mountains, Insular and Intermontane coalfields. The insular belt
includes the coalfields and deposits on Vancouver Island and small deposits
on the Queen Charlotte Islands to the north. The Intermontane Belt
includes a number of coalfields and deposits through the centre of the
province and the Rocky Mountain Belt includes the important coalfields in
the southeast and northeast of the province, where most of the mines are
located. Coal quality data for the province are available from a
number of sources.8,9,10,11,12
Rocky Mountain Belt Coalfields
East Kootenay Coalfields -
The
East Kootenay Coalfields (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5)
comprise three separate fields extending from the Montana border northward
and known respectively as Flathead, Crowsnest, and Elk Valley coalfields 19,20.
These are the most important coalfields of the province, having
produced, since 1898, over 500 million tonnes of mainly metallurgical coal.
All three fields are underlain by the Jura-Cretaceous Kootenay Group,
which contains the 100 to 700 metres thick coal-bearing Mist Mountain
Formation. Coal seams are found
through out the formation though the thicker seams occur lower in the
section. The formation contains
from 4 to over 30 seams, which make up from 8% to 12% of the thickness of
the formation. Cumulative coal
thickness ranges up to over 70 metres.
The area has experienced moderate to intense folding and thrust
faulting, which has caused repetitions and structural thickening of seams.
Rank varies from low to high-volatile A bituminous though most of the
coal is medium-volatile bituminous and of metallurgical grade.
All
the coal mined from the five open-pit mines in the East Kootenay
coalfields is exported.
In the south, in the Crowsnest Coalfield, Fording Coal Limited owns
and operates Coal Mountain Operations which in 2001 mined 2.4 million
tonnes of high-volatile A bituminous weak coking coal.
Most of the coal comes from a single seam near the base of the Mist
Mountain Formation. The Elkview Mine (formally the Balmer Mine) is owned
and operated by Teck-Cominco Corporation and is located in the northern
end of Crowsnest Coalfield.
In 2001 the mine produced 5.6 million tonnes of medium-volatile
hard coking coal, mainly from the bottom four seams in the Mist Mountain
Formation.
| There
are three mines in the Elk Valley Coalfield.
In the south the Line Creek Mine owned by Luscar Limited and
operated by Line Creek Resources Limited, in 1999 sold about 2.8
million tonnes of which about 0.5 million tonnes was thermal coal.
The metallurgical coal is a medium-volatile hard coking coal.
In the northern part of the Elk Valley coalfield, Fording Coal
Limited owns and operates the Greenhills Mine which produced 4.7
million tonnes of clean coal in 2001 and the Fording River mine (9.4
million tonnes clean coal production in 2001).
Both these mines produced coal from a large number of seams
through a thick Mist Mountain section and consequently sell medium and
high-volatile coking coal. The
data in the table indicate average quality for high and
medium-volatile metallurgical coal.
In general thermal coal has similar quality characteristics
except for higher ash and lower FSI values. |
The general clean coal specifications
are: 7
| Product coal dry basis |
Medium-volatile |
High-volatile |
| Volatile matter (%) |
21 - 28 |
32 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
64 - 69 |
62 |
| Ash (%) |
8 - 9.8 |
6 |
| Sulfur (%) |
0.3 -0.7 |
0.4 - 0.8 |
| Btu/lb |
13,750 - 14,200 |
14,200 - 15,050 |
| Mj/kg |
32 -33 |
33 - 35 |
| Hardgrove index |
>80 |
>60 |
| Rmax% |
1.1 - 1.35 |
0.8 - 1.1 |
|
Peace River Coalfield -
This
coalfield extends for 400 kilometres through the northeast part of the
province1,21 (Fig. 1).
Coal was discovered in the area in 1793 but lack of infrastructure
restricted mining to small operations serving local needs and prior to 1980
less than 100,000 tonnes were mined. Coal
occurs in the Gething and Gates formations both of Lower Cretaceous age.
In the northern part of the field high-volatile bituminous to
semi-anthracite coal seams are better developed in the Gething Formation.
A number of deposits were explored in the period 1975 to 1985.
Pine Valley Coal Corporation is now mining the Willow Creek deposit (Fig. 1). The company is
exporting small tonnages of raw low ash low-volatile bituminous coal for PCI
and hopes to ramp up to between 0.5 and 1 million tonnes per year
production. Other properties in the Gething Formation include the Sukunka
and Burnt River deposits. The
latter is presently being explored by Western Canadian Coal Corporation.
The company hopes to develop the property and market a low-volatile
bituminous PCI product.
The
Gething Formation thins to the south and economic seams are found in the
overlying Gates Formation.
These seams, which are medium-volatile bituminous, are mined at the
Bullmoose Mine owned by Teck-Cominco.
The mine is scheduled to close in 2003.
Western Canadian Coal Corporation is applying for a mining lease on a
property near the Quintette Mine, which is now closed.
The new mine will extract coal from the Gates Formation using open
pit and underground methods.
The
Gates Formation extends southeast from the mines and hosts a number of
interesting deposits (Monkman, Belcourt and Saxon) that were intensely
explored in the period 1978 to 1986.
Recently these properties have either changed ownership or have been
re staked.
At the moment there is no exploration on these properties, which
contain resources of medium-volatile hard coking coal.
| The
coal-bearing formations are folded and contain thrust faults.
The intensity of deformation is variable.
The structure in some pits in the Quintette Mine is extremely
complex, whereas the Bullmoose Mine is developed in an open
shallow-plunging syncline.
Coal seams at the Sukunka property are flat dipping and the
property is a candidate for underground room and pillar or long wall
mining. The
rank of coal in the Gething Formation is variable although the coal
generally washes easily to a low clean ash content.
Coal in the Gates Formation is generally medium-volatile
bituminous, though some of the deposits in the south contain
high-volatile bituminous coal.
Coal from both formations is low in sulphur and phosphorus. |
The clean coal quality of the Gates
Formation coal mined is approximately:
| |
As shipped quality Bullmoose Mine |
| Moisture (%) |
8.0 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
26.6 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
56.9 |
| Ash (%) |
8.5 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.4 |
| Btu/lb |
13,800 |
| Mj/kg |
30.18 |
| FSI |
5.5 - 7 |
| Hardgrove index |
70 - 80 |
| Rmax% |
1.1 |
|
Insular Coalfields
| Graham Island Coal
Deposits - Coal deposits on the Queen Charlotte Islands have not
been fully mapped because of thick vegetation, lack of outcrop and
complex geology. All the deposits are on the larger northern Graham Island and
are either Tertiary or Jura-Cretaceous. Tertiary lignites are exposed
in the northeast coastal areas and the older anthracites and
bituminous deposits outcrop in the southwestern part of the island.
The variation in rank of the older deposits is attributed to the
presence of younger volcanic rocks in the area.
The Jura-Cretaceous deposits were discovered in 1865 and were
mined in the period 1865 to 1872, when a few thousand tonnes were
extracted. Preliminary
exploration by a number of companies in recent years has failed to
identify sufficient resources to justify continued development. |
Typical analyses of the three groups
are:
| |
Lignite |
HV Bituminous |
Anthracite |
| Moisture (%) |
18.5 |
1.2 |
1.8 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
44.2 |
36.2 |
4.7 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
34.7 |
46.5 |
85.7 |
| Ash (%) |
2.3 |
16.1 |
6.6 |
| Sulfur (%) |
0.3 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
| Btu/lb |
ND |
11,235 |
|
| Mj/kg |
ND |
26.13 |
|
|
| Suquash Deposit -
This
small deposit, which was the first deposit to be developed on the
Vancouver Island, underlies an area of about 105 square kilometres on
the northeastern part of the island (Fig. 1).
A small mine operated from 1849 to 1851 and produced 23,000
tonnes of high-volatile C to B bituminous coal from Upper Cretaceous
rocks. The coal generally
has high ash contents and there has been little activity on the
property in recent decades. |
Quality
| Moisture (%) |
6 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
23 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
25.4 |
| Ash (%) |
45.3 |
| Sulphur (%) |
2.2 |
| Btu/lb |
11,580 |
| Mj/kg |
26.94 |
| Hardgrove index |
43 |
| FSI |
1.5 |
| Rmax% |
0.63 - 0.81 |
|
| Comox Coalfield -
The
Upper Cretaceous Nanaimo Group outcrops extensively on the eastern
side of Vancouver Island. In the Comox coalfield (Fig. 1)
coal is found in the lower most Comox Formation, which dips eastward
with the regional dip complicated by broad folds, thrusts and normal
faults. Generally
deformation is more intense along the western margin of the basin.
The Comox Coalfield, which covers an area of over 2,000 square
kilometres produced 18.6 million tonnes of high-volatile A and B
bituminous coal from 1888 to 1953.
Underground mining took place on three of four principal seams
in the Upper Cretaceous Comox Formation.
At present the Quinsam underground room and pillar mine is
selling about 300 000 tonnes per year of high-volatile A bituminous
thermal coal. |
A typical clean coal analysis on an
air-dried basis is:
| Moisture (%) |
3.0 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
36.5 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
47 |
| Ash (%) |
13.5 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.25 |
| Btu/lb |
11,880 |
| Mj/kg |
27.6 |
| Hardgrove index |
48 |
| FSI |
low |
| Rmax% |
0.6 - 0.88 |
|
| Nanaimo Coalfield -
The
Comox Formation is overlain by marine shales and the Upper Cretaceous
Extension and Protection Formations, which contain three mineable
seams. These formations
outcrop in the area around the city of Nanaimo and define the Nanaimo
Coalfield (Fig. 1),
which covers about 1300 square kilometres. Coal seams are broken by numerous of normal faults, which
disrupt an easterly regional dip.
In the hundred years preceding 1953, more than 50 million
tonnes of high-volatile A and B bituminous coal were produced from
this field. The coal was sold mainly as a thermal coal, though some was
used to make coke on the Island.
The producing area, in which the Douglas, Newcastle, and
Wellington seams were mined, covered about 170 square kilometres. |
Air-dried quality for the three seams
is reported:
| |
Douglas |
Wellington |
Newcastle |
| Moisture (%) |
1.6 |
1.9 |
1.6 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
43.2 |
39.4 |
39.7 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
45.5 |
45.7 |
47.7 |
| Ash (%) |
9.2 |
11.7 |
10.1 |
| Sulphur (%) |
1.2 |
1.3 |
0.9 |
| Btu/lb |
13,160 |
12,470 |
12,380 |
| Mj/kg |
30.61 |
29.01 |
29.84 |
| Hardgrove index |
67 |
67 |
67 |
| FSI |
ND |
3 - 4 |
ND |
| Rmax% all seams |
0.64 - 0.72 |
|
|
|
Intermontane Belt Coalfields
| Klappan and
Groundhog Coalfields - These fields jointly cover approximately
2,300 square kilometres in northern part of the Intermontane in an
area referred to as the Bowser Basin Belt (Fig. 1).
The coal is contained in the Currier Formation of the Bowser Lake
Group, which is Jura-Cretaceous in age.
The formation is up to 1100 metres thick and contains up to
25 coal seams, which range in thickness up to 7 metres.13
Coal rank is predominantly anthracite.
The
area is extensively folded with the regional structure is controlled
by a northwest trending synclinorium (the Biernes Synclinorium).14
The Klappan
Coalfield in the northern part of the Bowser Basin, was extensively
explored in the period 1982 to 1986 with the hope of developing a
major anthracite export mine. Fortune
Minerals Limited recently acquired the property. |
Typical air-dried analyses are:
| Raw |
Clean coal |
air-dried basis |
| Moisture (%) |
2.0 |
1.0 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
8.0 |
6.5 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
54.0 |
85.5 |
| Ash (%) |
36.0 |
7.0 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.5 |
0.5 |
| Btu/lb |
8,800 |
13,320 |
| Mj/kg |
20.47 |
31.0 |
| Hardgrove index |
|
3 |
| Rmax% |
2.8 - 4.4 |
|
|
| Telkwa Coalfield -
The Telkwa Coalfield (Fig. 1) produced
approximately 433,000 tons of thermal coal for domestic consumption in
the period 1918 to 1970. Coal is contained in the Early Cretaceous Skeena Group, which
is divided into four units. The
lowest (unit 1) contains a single coal zone and unit 3, which averages
90 metres in thickness, contains over 10 seams of mineable thickness.15,16
The seams are folded into open folds and broken by thrusts and
normal faults. The coal
is generally high-volatile A bituminous but in a few locations rank
increases to anthracite.
Since
1978 there has been intensive exploration in the area culminating in
plans to develop a 1 to 1.5 million tonnes per year open pit thermal
coal mine. In 1999 Luscar Ltd, the present owners of the property,
shelved plans to develop the property pending improvements in world
thermal coal prices and at the time of writing May 2002 plans have not
changed. |
The following is estimated product
quality:
| Moisture (%) |
10 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
25.6 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
65 |
| Ash (%) |
7.7 |
| Sulphur (%) |
1.0 |
| Btu/lb |
10,950 |
| Mj/kg |
25.6 |
| FSI |
0.0 - 5.5 |
| Hardgrove index |
40 - 70 |
| Rmax% average |
1.0 |
|
| Bowron River deposit
- An
area of Tertiary coal-bearing rocks (Fig. 1)
are preserved in a graben-like structure covering 47.5 square
kilometres.17 Three
coal seams with a cumulative thickness of 8.5 metres are contained in
the lower 75 metres of a 600 metre sedimentary section.
The seams dip at 20°
to 60°
limiting any surface-mining potential.
There has been some underground exploration but no mining and
there has been no exploration since 1990.
Coal rank is high-volatile C and B bituminous. The deposit is
noteworthy because it contains 8% resin. |
An average analysis from drill core is:
| Moisture (%) |
db |
| Volatile matter (%) |
36.7 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
42 |
| Ash (%) |
24.6 |
| Sulphur (%) |
1.39 |
| Btu/lb |
11,000 |
| Mj/kg |
25.59 |
| FSI |
1 - 3 |
| Hardgrove index |
58 |
| Rmax% |
0.65 |
|
| Similkameen Coalfield
- This coalfield is comprised of two separate Tertiary basins referred
to as Tulameen and Princeton (Fig. 1).
About 4 million tonnes of high-volatile coal were produced
prior to 1961, with the production split evenly between the two
basins. From 1919 to 1940 underground coal mines extracted about 2
million tonnes from the Tulameen basin and in the 1950’s. Surface
mining extracted about 0.15 million tonnes.
There was renewed exploration in the Tulameen basin
in the 1970’s and 1980’s and a major exploration program in 1998.
In 1999 a bulk sample was test washed with favourable results.
Compliance Coal Limited now controls the property and the
company is pursuing local markets for the coal. There are two seams in
the area. The upper main
seam ranges in thickness from 18 to 34 metres and the lower seam
averages 7.5 metres. The
seams are thought to underlie the whole basin, which covers 13 square
kilometres. Coal rank is
generally high-volatile C to B bituminous.
The
Princeton Basin covers an area of about 170 square kilometres.
There were 13 small underground and one surface mine that
operated in the central part of the basin up till about 1961.
Coal seam stratigraphy is not well understood compared to the
Tulameen Basin and this has hampered development.
Four coal zones with a cumulative coal thickness of 25 metres
or more are present. They
occur over a stratigraphic section of 500 metres.
Rank of the coal varies from lignite to high-volatile B
bituminous. |
Typical analyses for both basins are:
| |
Tulameen |
Princeton |
| |
db |
db |
| Volatile matter (%) |
37.4 |
33.3 - 34.4 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
42.52 |
40.5 - 42.6 |
| Ash (%) |
20.22 |
23 - 26.1 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.44 - 0.66 |
0.75 - 0.83 |
| Btu/lb |
10,828 |
9,941 - 10,336 |
| Mj/kg |
25.2 |
23.1 - 24.0 |
| FSI |
ND |
ND |
| Hardgrove index |
39 - 45 |
39 - 45 |
| Rmax% |
0.62-0.86 |
0.52 |
|
| Merritt Coalfield -
The
Merritt Coalfield (Fig. 1)
comprises several isolated Tertiary sedimentary areas that outcrop
within a radius of 15 kilometres and cover an area of 105 square
kilometres. Some of the
areas are overlain by recent volcanics. From 1906 to 1963, underground
mines in the area produced 2.4 million tonnes of high-volatile C to
A bituminous coal. Reportedly,
several seams of 1.5 metres thickness are present, but faulting and
rapid lateral changes of stratigraphy made seam correlation and
underground
mining difficult. |
A typical air-dried analysis is:
| Moisture (%) air-dried |
5 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
34.0 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
52.0 |
| Ash (%) |
9.0 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.5 |
| Btu/lb |
12,500 |
| Mj/kg |
29.08 |
| FSI |
3 |
| Hardgrove index |
57 |
| Rmax% |
0.64- |
|
| Hat Creek Coalfield -
A
major resource of lignite to sub bituminous B coal exists in a
graben, 26 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide, that occupies the
Hat Creek Valley (Fig. 1).
The Tertiary rocks in the graben contain a coal member that is
about 1200 metres thick, of which up to 550 metres is coal.
This is one of the thickest accumulations of coal in the world.4 Two potential mining areas have been outlined and designated
as deposits 1 in the north and 2 in the south.
Deposit 1 contains two coal seams.
The upper is 120 to 250 metres thick and the lower, which is
450 to 550 metres thick, is divided into 3 parts.
The deposit is faulted and seams are folded and moderately to
steeply dipping. The area contains a resource of about 10 billion
tonnes, of which approximately 500 million tones of proven reserve are
within the Number 1 deposit. The
area was considered for development in conjunction with the
construction of a thermal power plant, but at the moment plans are
shelved. |
Typical raw as-received coal quality
is:
| Moisture as-received (%) |
23.5 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
24.8 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
25.1 |
| Ash (%) |
26.6 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.2 - 0.7 |
| Btu/lb |
5,800 |
| Mj/kg |
13.49 |
| Hardgrove index |
58 |
| Rmax% |
0.4 |
|
| Tuya River Coalfield -
A
200 square kilometre area of Tertiary rocks (Fig. 1)
contains a single coal zone with cumulative coal thickness that varies
from 10 to 30 metres.18
The area is isolated and has not been considered for
development, but it does contain a resource of over 400 million tonnes
of high-volatile B bituminous coal. |
A typical average raw analysis on an
as-received basis is:
| Moisture (%) |
12.4 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
30.7 |
| Fixed carbon (%) |
37.8 |
| Ash (%) |
19.1 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.5 |
| Btu/lb |
7,740 |
| Mj/kg |
18 |
| Hardgrove index |
53 |
| Rmax% |
0.6 - 0.8 |
|
| Coal River Coalfield -
Coal
River cuts through an area of Tertiary rocks exposing a single seam of
lignite.5 The complete seam is not exposed but partial seam thicknesses
range up to 8 metres. The
basin (Fig. 1)
covers an area of about 35 square kilometres and contains a resource
of up to 200 million tonnes. |
An average air-dried analysis is:
| Moisture (%) as-received |
9.4 |
| Moisture (%) air-dried |
13.8 |
| Volatile matter (%) |
41.18 |
| Fixed carbon(%) |
29.94 |
| Ash (%) |
4.84 |
| Sulphur (%) |
0.15 |
| Btu/lb |
9,785 |
| Mj/kg |
22.76 |
| Rmax% |
0.2 |
|
Selected References
1 Smith, G.G., 1989, Coal
Resources of Canada; Geological
Survey of Canada, Paper 89-4, pages 29-68.
2 Gardner, S.L., 1995, Coal Resources and Coal Mining on
Vancouver Island; B.C. Ministry of
Employment and Investment, BC Geological Survey, Open file
1997-19.
3 Ryan, B.D. and Dawson, F.M., 1993, Coal and Coalbed Methane
Potential of the Bowser Basin Northern British Columbia; Ministry
of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources British Columbia, Open File
1993-31.
4 Campbell, D.D., Jory, L.T. and Saunders, C.R., 1977, Geology
of the Hat Creek Coal Deposits; Canadian Mining and Metallurgical Bulletin, V 70,, No. 782, pages
99-108.
5 Ryan, B.D., 1996, Lignite Occurrences on the Coal River,
Northern British Columbia (94M/10); in Geological Fieldwork 1995, B.C.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1996-1, pages
271-275.
6 Pearson, D.E., 1980, The Quality of Western Canadian Coking
Coals. Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Bulletin v. 73.
7 Price, J.T. and Gransden, J.F., 1987, Metallurgical Coals in
Canada: Resources, Research and Utilization;
Energy Mines and Resources Canada, CANMET Report 87-2E.
8 Martonhegyi, F., 1985, Intermontane Coal Basins in the
Western Cordillera; Canadian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Special Volume 31, Coal in Canada,
pages 269-277.
9 British Columbia Coal Quality Catalog (1992): Mineral
Resources Division, BC Geological Survey, Information
Circular, 1992-20.
10 Ryan, B.D., 1997, Coal Quality Variations in the Gething
Formation Northeast British Columbia (93O,J,I); Ministry
of Employment and Investment, Paper 1997-1, pages 373-397.
11 Ryan, B.D. and Grieve, D.A., 1995, Source and Distribution
of Phosphorus in British Columbia Coal Seams; in
Geological fieldwork 1996, Grant, B. and Newell, J.M., Editors, B.C.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1996-1, pages
277-294.
12 Coal in British Columbia, 1986, Ministry
of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, BC Geological Survey,
Paper 1986-3.
13 MacLeod, S.E. and Hills, L.V., 199, Conformable Late
Jurassic (Oxfordian) to Early Cretaceous Strata, Northern Bowser Basin,
British Columbia: A Sedimentological and Paleontological Model; Canadian
Journal of Earth Science, Volume 27, pages 988-998.
14 Moffat, I.W. and Bustin, R. M., 1993, Deformational History
of the Groundhog Coalfield, Northeastern Bowser Basin, British Columbia;
Styles, Superposition and Tectonic Implications; Bulletin
of Canadian Petroleum Geology, Volume 41, pages 1 to 16.
15 Ryan, B.D. and Dawson, M.F. (1994): Potential Coal and
Coalbed Methane Resource of the Telkwa Coalfield, Central British
Columbia; in Geological
Fieldwork 1993, B.C. Ministry of
Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1994-1, pages 225-243.
16 Palsgrove, R.J. and Bustin, R.M., 1991, Stratigraphy and
Sedimentology of the Lower Skeena Group, Telkwa Coalfield, Central British
Columbia, B.C. NTS 93L/11, B.C.
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1991-2.
17 Matheson, A. and Mansour Sadre, 1991, Subsurface Coal
Sampling Survey, Bowron River Coal deposits, Central British Columbia,
93H/13, B.C. Ministry of Energy,
Mines and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1991-1, pages 391-397.
18 Ryan, B.D., 1991, Geology and Potential Coal and Coalbed
Methane Resources of the Tuya River Coal Basin. in Geological Fieldwork
1990, B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines
and Petroleum Resources, Paper 1991-1, pages 419-429.
19 Grieve, D., 1985, Coalfields of the East Kootenay Region,
Southwestern British Columbia. The Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Special Volume 31,
Coal in Canada, pages 203-211.
20 Grieve, D., 1992 Geology and Rank Distribution of the Elk
Valley Coalfield, S.E. B.C., British Columbia, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources,
BC Geological Survey, Bulletin 82.
21 Duff, P. McL, and Gilchrist, R.D., 1981, Correlation of
Lower Cretaceous Coal Measures, Peace River Coalfield, British
Columbia, Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources,
BC Geological Survey, Paper, 1981-83.
Prepared by Barry Ryan PhD,
P.Geo,
Coal and Coalbed Methane Geologist
Resource Development and Geoscience Branch,
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources,
PO Box 9323
STN PROV GOVT, Victoria,
British Columbia V8W 9N3 Canada
Tel: 250-952-0418 Fax: 250-952-0418
E-mail Barry.D.Ryan@gov.bc.ca
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