WSGS Coal Group
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Nick Jones –PG |
James Rodgers WSGS/DEQ Research Assistant Coal Group |
Wyoming Coal
Wyoming leads the nation in coal production. Our low-ash and low-sulfur coal is used in 39 states across the country. In 2007, coal mines in the state produced a record 453.56 million tons of coal, 39.59 percent of the 1.14 billion tons produced in the U.S. In the U.S., coal generates about 50 percent of the nation’s electricity: Wyoming coal accounts for 30 percent of this total. Four of the state’s ten major coal fields currently produce coal. In the Powder River Basin (PRB) coal field, the most prolific in the world, coal is mined from two beds – the Anderson and Canyon. Each bed measures between 30 and 50 feet thick, has a moisture content between 20 and 30 percent, and contains less than 6 percent ash and less than 0.5 percent sulfur. |
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The Coal Group
The Wyoming State Geological Survey is the major source of information about Wyoming’s coal geology, coal resources, coal mines, and mining. We can provide information about the origin, distribution, thickness, and quality of Wyoming’s many commercial coal seams. The WSGS maintains extensive files of production, drilling, and coal quality data. We also retain numerous USGS open-file reports on the potentially minable coal throughout the state, and welcome all inquires about Wyoming coal.
Coal publications are available from WSGSPublications:
Current Projects:
- Data collection and interpretation for the National Coal Resource Data
System; cooperative project with the U.S. Geological Survey
- Powder River Basin coal correlation, as part of the Powder River Basin Interactive Hydrologic and Geologic Model; for the Wyoming Water Development Commission
- Assimilative capacity in the Powder River drainage, Powder River Basin; cooperative project with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Water Division
- Tracking and reporting the production, national distribution, and use of Wyoming coal
- High-resolution color photo documentation and description of coal-bearing intervals throughout Wyoming
- Paleogeographic and geologic study of the origin and depositional environments of coal deposits in Wyoming
- Underground coal gasification potential in the Powder River Basin coal beds
Additional WSGS Coal Information:
- Domestic non-renewable and renewable energy study
- Wyoming coal mine location map
- Coal companies in Wyoming
- Coal resources in Wyoming
- Historical mine information
- Interactive geologic and hydrologic database of N. Powder River Basin
- Coal bed natural gas information
- Pyrophoricity (spontaneous combustion) of Powder River Basin coals – Considerations for coal bed natural gas development
- Wyoming coal(an educational website featuring the origin, mining, and use of coal)
Related Links