V.—Some Recent Work Among the Upper Carboniferous Rocks of North Staffordshire, and its bearing on concealed coalfields

Abstract

There is every reason to believe that in the near future the supplies of coal lying beneath the Red Rocks of the Midland counties will have to be relied upon to meet the increasing demand. Workable seams of coal have been met with at reasonable depths beneath the Red Rocks surrounding the South Staffordshire Coalfield, but there remain large areas lying between the known coalfields of Shropshire, North Staffordshire, and Nottinghamshire, which have not at present been explored. Within this region, as shown on the published maps of the Geological Survey, there are considerable areas of so-called Permian rocks, which recent investigations have proved to be conformable to the Upper Coal-measures and to contain a Coal-measure flora. Thus Mr. T. C. Cantrill has shown that in the Forest of Wyre the so-called Permian rocks contain thin coal-seams and bands of Spirorbis limestone.