The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-04-01
fFrom Report of Inspector OF Mines.l
The Coal Resources of the State.

The Coal Measures of Ohio form part
of the great Allegheny coal field, which
extends through portions of nine States
Pennsylvania Ohio. Maryland West
Virginia Virginia, Kentucky. Tennessee,
Georgia, and Alabama, and includes an
area of fully $1,000 square miles, being
upward of 700 miles long, and averaging
nearly 80 miles wide. The State of Ohio
contains more than 10000 square miles
of the most favored portion of this field
the coal area extending from Geauga
county on the north to Lawrence county
on the South; and from jefferson county
on the East to Holmes county on the
West.
There are no less than ten different
minable beds of coal in the State; they
do not all, however, extend over the
whole area, for the Allegheny coal field,
in common with all other coal fields, pos
sesses a basin shape; hence the lower
seams occupy much greater areas than
the upper ones. The deepest place (the
basin) of the coal strata is on the Ohio
River, between Bellair and Pomeroy. AT
this point the coal bearing rocks are from
400 to 800 feet thick, and inclose all
the seams of the series. North and west
from the basin the rocks rise toward its
margin, and one after another of the diff
ferent Goals crop out, till reaching the
extreme outcrop, the lower coal of all
the famous Briar Hill seam-comes to
the surface and disappears forever.
Although the absolute slope and struc-
ture of the coal field of Ohio has been
ascertained with remarkable accuracy by
the late careful and able Geological Sur
Vey, the estimates made of the amount of
available coal are beyond all question too
high. Borings made in different parts
of the coal area for oil, salt, ETC., as well
as examinations made along the hanks
of the several seams where they crop out,
or come to grass, in deep surface ero-
sions, show that few of the lower Goals
are persistent, and that coal of NINA
BILE height in one region is frequently
found toothin in another region to make
it of any immediate or prospective COM
mercial value. The coal of some seams
appears never to have been deposited
over parts of certain areas, or to have
been wholly removed, after deposition,
by denudition. Besides, our coal beds,
in common with all coal beds, from what
ever field in the world are subject to
rock-faults, horse-backs, and other min
ing troubles, which give cause for quite
an item of subtraction.
Although our coal area includes 10000
square miles-equal to that of Great Bri-
tain, it does not follow from this fact
that we possess an equal amount of avail
able coal; for the Coal Measures of Ohio
are nowhere more than 400 or l 500 feet
thick, while the Coal Measures of Eng
land in some districts-that of South
Wales-are fully 10000 feet thick, though
coal can never be mined at half that
depth. Taking, however, 1000 feet as
the available mining depth, the limit at
which the Royal Coal Commission of 1871
puts it, and the coal area of that coun-
frui ic efiil hot dat,hla hat IF
The thickness, and number and quality
of the beds must also be considered
equally with their extent of area, in
forming comparisons of this nature Our
thickest coal, that of the great vein of
Hooking, Athens, and Perry counties,
nowhere exceeds II or Is feet in thick
ness, while the ten-yard coal of Dudley,
Wolverhampton, and Billston, in Eng
land, is from "a to Sc feet thick. The
maximum thickness of our coal may be
stated at 45 feet; in the North Stafford
shire district they have l40 feet, and 40
different beds of coal, seams of two feet
and under not being considered. But so
far as quality is concerned we have no
comparisons to fear
In his recent work on Coal and Coal
Mining, Warrington Smyth considers the
amount of available coal in the British
Isles at 80,000,000 900 tons, Edward Hull,
of the Geological Survey, having several
years previous made the same statement,
the depth of mining being calculated at
1000 feet. The Coal Commission puts
the amount at 90,207, 100000 tons as
proved coal, and adds 6,273, 600 900 tons
as having a probable existence at worka-
BILE depths $4,000 feet) under the Per-
mian and New Red Sandstone forma-
tions. Some years ago Mr.. Henry Hus-
sey Vivian made the extraordinary state
ment in the House of Commons that,
not only was 1000 feet not the workable
depth of coal mining, but that 24.000,-
100000 tons could be raised from the
South Wales coal fields alone at greater
depth than 1000 feet.
The deepest mines in England are the
Pendleton pit which is 2,2l4 feet deep,
and the Rosebridge pit, 1876 feet'deep.
A pit at Charleroy in Belgium, is 2,649
feet deep, and another has been sunk,
but is not working, to 5000 feet deep.
Warrington Smyth on the authority of
Prof. Trasenster, of Leige, puts the depth
of the Belgium mines at much greater
depth, respectively 2,S20 feet, and 3,4lI
feet, but he is evidently mistaken.
Before even 1000 feet of workable
depth is practicable, some other means
of ventilation will require to be discov-
cred and applied to coal mining. The
heat of a mine increases about one degree
OI fanFennelIS scale IOf every OU or ~
feet of descent; at 5000 feet the temper
ature would be l02 degrees, and at 1000
feet l20 degrees. Rapidly moving cur
rents of air may cool the working faces
several degrees below these figures, and
compressed air may still further cool the
temperature, but no miner can work to
any advantage in a temperature exceed
ing so degrees.
The ten minable beds of coal of Ohio
will aggregate 40 to 45 feet at many
points on the Ohio river. As, however,
the upper Goals, by reason of the basin
slope of the field, occupy but limited
areas, and no coal seam, not even the
lowest, extends over the whole of the
coal area, very heavy discount must be
made in forming any estimate of the
average thickness applied to the whole
coal area Nine feet will approximate
it, and when due allowance is made for
waste by crushed and lost pillars, and
small coal lost in screening (being at
least one-third of the whole) there is
left but six feet of merchantable coal |
This estimate would give 60 900 600 900 |
tons as the aggregate commercial yield |
of Ohio, which, at the present. rate of |
consumption, would require period of
1882 years to consume it. 1t would |
supply the whole of the United States |
l,700 years, and Great Britain nearly !
$50 years, were no yearly increase made
to their outputs.