ASSESSMENT OF MINEABLE COAL IN ROBINSON FOREST, EASTERN KENTUCKY

Land use issues in traditional coal mining areas are increasingly common and complex. One example is Robinson Forest, a University of Kentucky research forest in eastern Kentucky. Mining has occurred in areas around the forest but not within the forest. The forest contains one of the last remaining reserves of thick, surface-mineable coal in the Skyline coal zone. A resource assessment was requested in order to make an informed decision on land use for the forest.

The Kentucky Geological Survey was asked to assess the reserves of the forest using existing data; however, there are very little data from within the forest boundary. In order to assess protected areas, for which there are little data, borehole and outcrop measurements from outside the protected area must be analyzed and used to assess coal continuity and thickness variability. The results of the analysis can be used to tailor specific methods to extrapolate thickness data into the forest area based on the geology of the coals present.

Two assessed coal zones exhibit distinctly different kinds of variation. The Hazard No. 8 coal zone maintains a thick mineable seam, averaging 48 inches in areas around the forest. Because of the consistency of the beds in this zone, a simple average calculation was used for all areas of the forest. The Tiptop and Skyline coal zone are more variable in thickness and stratigraphic position around the forest boundary. Rather than using a simple average thickness calculation for these coals, minimum, maximum, and average thickness values were assigned to individual mining tracts within the forest based on the most proximate data. This method provides a range of tonnage estimates that reflect the greater variability of the beds in this zone.