CALCULATING AND COMMUNICATING COAL RESERVE INFORMATION FOR WESTERN KENTUCKY

Coal resources have been calculated for 17 of Kentucky’s most productive coal beds, including five from the Western Kentucky Coal Field: the Davis (W. Ky. No. 6), Dekoven (W. Ky. No. 7), Springfield (W. Ky. No. 9), Herrin (W. Ky. No. 11), and Baker (W. Ky. No. 13). In 2014, remaining coal resources greater than 28 inches thick were estimated for these beds by subtracting mined areas from previously established estimates of original coal resources. Significant resources less than 28 inches thick remain in these beds, but are generally not economically recoverable, and therefore are not tabulated in remaining resource tables.

A website was constructed to show the magnitude and geographic distribution of coal resources with potential for future development. The website serves the data using Esri ArcGIS Server and an ArcGIS Javascript API web application. Estimates of remaining coal shown on this site are believed to be an available resource, but no analysis has been done to determine whether the deposits are economically recoverable under specific market conditions or if there may be other restrictions to mining. Previous studies of coal availability and recoverability suggest that between 20 and 50 percent of remaining coal may be economically recoverable.

On the website, resources can be tabulated and visualized by bed or by county. Output can be shown for total resources or by USGS thickness categories. Production can also be plotted. Primary displays include original coal resource, mined-out areas, coal-thickness locations, and borehole data locations. Users can also link to Kentucky active mines and energy infrastructure web pages, or to maps and publications of available coal resources for the western Kentucky coals (PDF files), as well as to USGS basinwide reports. Users can also access and download coal-thickness and coal-quality data for these coals, or link to other coal information on the website.