00/00039 Coal in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region—clean, compliant, and available

Abstract

The Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains region produced over 340 million short tons of coal in 1997, approximately 30 percent of the nation`s total coal production. Coals from this region are shipped to 26 states in the western, midwest, southern, and eastern US and production is projected to increase to 415 million short tons by 2015; the projected increase will be utilized primarily for production of electric power. The coals are economically attractive because they can be produced by surface mining, and do not require costly beneficiation to be compliant with emission standards. The coals are compliant because their chemical composition was influenced by tectonic settings of the coal basins and provenance of the sediments entering the basins. Tectonics during the Paleocene also influenced rates of precipitation and depositional systems. These factors, in concert, controlled the amount, distribution, and levels of sulfur, ash, and trace elements of environmental concern in the region`s coals. The emphasis of this paper is on the chemistry of these thick, high-quality coals and the geologic controls that resulted in their accumulation.