THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATEWIDE COAL MAPPING DATABASE FOR WEST VIRGINIA, LESSONS AND TRIUMPHS (Invited Presentation)

For over twenty years the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey (WVGES) has developed and maintained a Geographic Information System based inventory of mined and remaining coal for 62 minable coals seams and splits known as the Coal Bed Mapping Project (CBMP). This is a cooperative effort entitled the Mineral Lands Mapping Program (MLMP) with the West Virginia Department of Tax and Revenue and the West Virginia University GIS Technical Center. Partnerships and data transfer with other government agencies such as West Virginia Miners Health Safety & Training and United States Department of Interior Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, as well as cooperation from numerous coal companies, proved vital for the development of this project.

Various challenges were encountered throughout development including data acquisition, data density, and accumulation, historical correlation problems, struggles with computer programs and processing, and procurement of reliable mine maps.

Products created include statewide surfaces by seam of outcrop, mined and remaining coal, coal elevation and overburden, geologic discontinuities, coal bed split/merge lines and grids of seam thickness, coal thickness and percent parting. All of these data are publicly available via the WVGES website with a few exceptions.

The original intent of the project was to create a fair and equitable model to be used by the West Virginia Department of Tax and Revenue for mineral tax evaluations, however the CBMP has proved invaluable for other geological research. Derivative products include an Interactive Mapping Service (IMS) for all mining or by seam, a tool to identify potential underground mine subsidence for home owners, exploration of rare earth elements, a coal chemistry database, and studies for identifying potential for pump storage and geothermal HVAC systems as well as evaluating geologic units in West Virginia as a critical minerals resource.