Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1921-02-04
COAL SHORTAGE
WILLNEVERC COME
Sufficient Fuel Undeveloped in
Buchanan County to Last for
Seventeen Years.

Charlottesville, January 29.-Thc
statement, frequentally and recently
repeated by scientists, that the
United States is approaching an
economic crisis by reason of the fact
that her coal beds are nearly ex-
hausted was scoffed at today by DIR.
Thoma Leonard Watson, corcoran
Professor of Geology at the Univer-
sity of Virginia and State geologist
of Virginia
THE Virginia Geological Survey,
under the direction of DR.. Watson,
as State Geologist. is now in the
midst of coal survey of Virginia
for which figures have been obtained
for only four of the coal-bearing
counties of the State. The figures for
one county alone-Buchanan- should
set at rest the fears of the future
regarding possible national coal
shortage.
Buchanan County Coal.
Regarding Buchanan County, quot
ing from the recently published coun
ty report, said: "The net reserve of
bituminous and semi-bituminous coal
in this county is 8,400,000,000 tons
Sufficient to operate every industry
in the United States for u period of
seventeen years.
While Virginia is only ninth OH
the list Of coal producing States,
the quality of the standard grades
of bituminous mined places her fuel
products amongst the most desiri
able in the nation, the University of
Virginia professor states.
Quoting further from the above
report in making comparison of the
Virginia coal with other high grade
bituminous Goals in the United States
he said: The Virginia Goals con-
eerned in our survey seem to COM
pare most closely in rank, heat value
asht and moisture content in the Ap-
palachian region to the low ash and
low sulphur Goals in the Fairmont
district of northern West Virginia
and in the Uniontown- -Connellsville
zone of Pennsylvania. (The' bitumin-
Gus coal mined in the Pennsylvania
region holds Il national reputation
for its heat producing value.) Their
low ash, low moisture and abnormal
ly low sulphur content give these
Virgin;E Goals the advantage of,
those in northern West Virginia and
in Western Pennsylvania.
Tazewell County Tonnage.
An interesting comparison is af-
forded between national coal con-
sumption figures for 1918-the lat
est statistics available-and the re-
serve figures for TaZewell County,
Virginia. According to recent statis-
tics, the national coal consumption
for 1918 was G78,211 ,904 tons, rep
resenting a money value of $685.
299,2S7, Tazewell County's reserve
of vulnerable coal is given-a dis
count of thirty per cent. from the to-
tal-as 1000 100000 tons.
Should there be any foundation
for the statement of scientists re-
garding a coal shortage-and this
DR.. Watson doubts 615,000 men
employed in the coal industry in the
entire United States could be shirt
ed to the Virginia regions with the
assurance of an output of bituminous
coal sufficient to supply the nation
for an indefinite period.
DR.. Watson stresses the fact that
the activities of this great army of
coal workers could be we'll diverted
towards mining the various grades
of bituminous and semi-bituminous
(Pocahontas) Goals in Southwestern
Virginia. This Pocahontas grade of
cOa1 ha etatac is the standard for
steaming coal in the United States
on account of its high per cent of
fixed carbon and low per cent of
volatile gases, sulphur and ash.