Mining Publication: Methane Gas Content of the Mary Lee Group of Coalbeds, Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Walker Counties, Ala.
Original creation date: January 1976
It is estimated that more than 1 trillion cubic feet of methane is contained within the coals of the Mary Lee Group in Jefferson, eastern Tuscaloosa, and southern Walker Counties, Alabama. Most of this methane will be encountered by mining. Coals of the Mary Lee group are presently being mined at depths exceeding 1,000 feet and will in the near future be mined at even greater depths, where the problem of methane gas affecting the mining operations will be acute. It is calculated that approximately 90 pct of the methane is at depths greater than 1,000 feet, and over half of the gas is contained within only 12 pct of the study area which is under more than 1,500 feet of overburden. Degasification in advance of mining will increase mine safety, reduce ventilation expenditures, increase productivity, provide an additional energy source, and make it possible to mine parts of deep coalbeds that probably could not otherwise be mined.
Authors: WP Diamond, GW Murrie, CM McCulloch
Report of Investigations - January 1976
NIOSHTIC2 Number: 10000583
Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, RI 8117, 1976 Jan; :1-9
See Also
- A CART Technique to Adjust Production from Longwall Coal Operations under Ventilation Constraints
- Coal Mine Methane: A Review of Capture and Utilization Practices with Benefits to Mining Safety and to Greenhouse Gas Reduction
- Degasification System Selection for U.S. Longwall Mines Using an Expert Classification System
- Drainage of Methane From the Overlying Pocahontas No. 4 Coalbed From Workings in the Pocahontas No. 3 Coalbed
- Historical Development of Technologies for Controlling Methane in Underground Coal Mines
- Methane Control by Isolation of a Major Coal Panel - Pittsburgh Coalbed
- Methane Emission from U.S. Coal Mines in 1975, A Survey : A Supplement to Information Circulars 8558 and 8659
- Methane Emission from U.S. Coal Mines, A Survey
- Rotary Drilling Techniques Used in the Beckley Coalbed
- Underground Gob Gas Drainage During Longwall Mining
- Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program