The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-14
GEORG|A'S COAL DEPOSIT IS SMALL  But Large Enough to Last
 Forever AS IT IS MINED TODAY The Coal Production in 1909 Was Only 211,196 Tons-The De-
 posits Lie in Three
 Counties
AS IT IS MINED TODAY

Atlanta, May Especial )-Accord- ing to s. w Metallic state geologist ! the coal deposits of Georgia are con fined to lookout Sand and Pigeon mountains which are located in the eX- trcme northwestern part of the state in Walker, Chattooga and Dade counties. The deposits of Walker county occur in Pigeon mountain and along the east ern side of Lookout mountain. The most valuable coal seams of this county are those in the vincinity of the Dur ham mines located on what is known eas Round mountain, small elevation near the central axis of Lookout noun tain.
 The deposits of Chattooga county are limited to a small area in it's extreme northwestern corner along the Georgia Alabama line. The exposures of coal here, as in Walker county, are near or on the eastern brow of Lookout noun tain at an elevation from 300 to 600 feet above the valley. This county so far, has produced no coal. but, neverthe- less. there are a number of places where promising exposures occur.
 The coal area of Dade county exceeds
  The deposits are confined to the west ern side of Lookout and the northern portion of Sand mountain. The main coal mines of this county are on Sand mountain, in the vicinity of Cole City. In addition to these workings, there has also been a limited amount of coal mined near Rising Fawn in the south western part of the county. only short distance from the Georgia Alabama line The total coal area of Georgia is approximately ITO square miles.
 The coal deposits of Georgia occur in both the lower and upper coal measures. The lower coal measures consists of what is known as the Lookout sandstone which is made up of sandstone, conglomerate shales and coal. The formation varies in thickness in northwest Georgia from | 3OO to 400 feet. The upper beds of the | Lookout formation are made up chiefly | of sandstone with thin beds of argn- laceous .shale and from two to five coal l seams The lower portion of the loweT | coal measure consists of red and gray | shales, with few thin beds of saiad- | stone and limestone. Associated with ,he | shades are a few thin beds of limestone. These calcareous beds increase in num- Der as the Bangor limestone, the lower member, is approached At some points along the western slope of Lookout noun
 
 contain numerous fossils, the most abundant being bryozoa and fragments Of crnoid stems.
 Y The upper coal measures include a sil- icious serous of rocks known as the Walden sandstone. It forms the upper nemh1r of the standstone and conglom- ere,es of Lookout, Sand and Pigeon mountains The formation, whion is made up of sandstone, conglomerate and Ehale, with from two to seven seams of coal, attans it's greatest thickness of Round mountain in the vicinity of the Durham coal mines. Its approximate thickness at this point has been placed by Hayes at 930 feet.
 Prior to 1891 all of the coal mined in Georgia was obtained from Dade coun- ty. in the vicinity of Cole City. The first mines operated in this district were opened by Gordon 6 Russell more than half century ago. and the coal was hauled by wagon to Shellmound a dis tance of about miles. Active mining operations might be said to have begun at >Round mountain in 1891, a few months previous to the completion of the Chickamauga and Durham railroad to that point. The first shipments were made in 1892 since which date the mines have been in continuous opera tion. At the present time the mines in the vicinity of Round mountain are pro- iucing daily about TOO tons, which Is used chiefly for steam and coking pur- poses.
 The coal production of Georgia for 1909 was 211,196 short tons. valued at $29s,792, which was a decided decrease in output compared with 1907 and 1908. This fall off in production is re- ported to be due largely to the with drawal of the convicts from the mines and the inability of the companies tn obtain free labor. The decrease in ton- mage for 1909 was partially offset by larger relative return to the operators as shown by the average price per ton.
 At our present rate of coal mining it has been estimated that Georgia has ample coal to last for more than 1000 years.