• Current News
• Africa
• Alabama
• Alaska
• Antarctic
• Archaeology
• Arctic
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Asia
• Astronomy
• Atlantic
• Australia and Pacific
• Bakken Shale
• Barnett Shale
• California
• Canada
• Caribbean Sea
• Caves and Karst
• Central America
• China
• Coal
• Coastal Geology
• Colorado
• Contamination
• Delaware
• Diamonds
• Dimension Stone
• Dinosaurs
• Dust Storm
• Earthquakes
• Energy
• Engineering Geology
• Environment
• Europe
• Fayetteville Shale
• Floods
• Florida
• Fossils
• Gemstones
• Geologist Career
• Geology for Kids
• Geology.com
• Georgia
• Geothermal
• Glaciers
• Global Warming
• Gold
• Google
• GPS and GIS
• Great Websites
• Ground Water
• Hawaii
• Haynesville Shale
• Historical Geology
• Hurricanes and Cyclones
• Idaho
• Illinois
• India
• Indiana
• Indonesia
• Interesting
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Landslides
• LNG
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maps
• Marcellus Shale
• Mars
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Metals
• Meteorology
• Meteors and Meteorites
• Mexico
• Michigan
• Minerals
• Mining
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Natural Gas
• Natural Hazards
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oceanography
• Ohio
• Oil and Gas
• Oklahoma
• OPEC
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Plants
• Plate Tectonics
• Politics and Geology
• Satellite Images
• Soil
• Solar Power
• South America
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Space
• Subsidence
• Teaching Science
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Tornadoes
• Tsunami
• United States
• USGS
• Utah
• Utica Shale
• Vehicles
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Volcanoes
• Washington
• Water
• West Virginia
• Wildfire
• Wind Energy
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Geology News
Coal Current Events

“In the early morning hours of December 22, 2008, the earthen wall of a containment pond at Tennessee’s Kingston Fossil Plant gave way. The breach released 1.3 million cubic meters (1.7 cubic yards) of fly ash—a coal-combustion waste product captured and stored in wet form. The spill infiltrated the Emory River, buried some 120 hectares (300 acres) in sludge, and even knocked a nearby home completely off its foundation.

The Thematic Mapper on NASA’s Landsat 5 satellite captured these images of the Kingston Fossil Plant and its surroundings on November 20, 2008, a month before the spill (right); and December 22, 2008, immediately after the spill, (right). In the November image, walls visibly contain two adjacent slurry ponds at the plant—one in the northwest and one in the southeast—but in the December image, the walls of the northwestern slurry pond have given way. In this image, light blue slurry covers the ground to the north and east of the plant. Sediment also clogs the nearby Emory River, evident from the waterway’s relatively light blue color.

Estimates of the time required to clean up the spill ranged from weeks to years.” Quoted from the Earth Observatory story.

Links to other reports on this incident…. Coal Sludge Dam Break, Sludge Spill Now 1 Billion Gallons, Heavy Metals from Sludge Spill.

Thirteen workers were trapped when an illegal coal mine in southwestern China became flooded.

West Virginia is having trouble retaining coal mine inspectors. An inspector there with twenty years experience earns $13,000 less than a federal MSHA with four years of experience. Many are convinced that being short on inspectors and requiring lots of overtime will be harmful to coal mine safety.

An article on the CNN website comments on heavy metals detected in river water samples near the site of the TVA coal sludge dam failure.

On December 24, we linked to a news story about a coal sludge spill near Kingston, Tennessee. TVA didn’t know how much sludge was in the in the failed reservoir. Now they have revised their estimate from 360 million gallons to one billion gallons.

For the past 57 years, BP has published the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. It is updated in June of every year and provides lots of data and perspectives on world energy markets. It includes a survey of reserves, production, prices, consumption and economics for oil, natural gas and coal. It contains additional information for other energy sources such as nuclear and hydroelectricity.

An article on the Houston Chronicle website, a news organization that closely follows energy topics, reports that Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and President-elect Obama’s nominee for energy secretary, is not a fan of fossil fuel-based energy.

An 80 acre dam full of sludge produced by a coal-fired power plant broke near Kingston, Tennessee. A 500,000,000-gallon torrent of sludge covered about 400 acres and damaged 15 homes.

USGS has released an assessment of the Gillette coalfield, within the Powder River Basin in east-central Wyoming. “It is the most prolific coalfield in the United States. In 2006, production from the coalfield totaled over 431 million short tons of coal, which represented over 37 percent of the Nation

Thirty-three miners were rescued from a flooded mine in Jiaxian County, Henan Province, China. The miners are said to have been working in an unauthorized area of the mine.

Action by an Environmental Protection Agency appeals panel rejected a federal permit for the Bonanza coal-fired power plant in Utah. The ruling could cause problems for many other plants now in the review process.

Some people have different ideas on the best way to use West Virginia’s mountaintops. Some want to continue mining the coal within, while others are pushing for a move toward wind power.

Contrary to its name, the New River is believed to be one of the oldest rivers on Earth. It is also one of the few rivers in the world that flow north. Visit the New River Gorge in Fayetteville, WV in this month’s edition of “Travels in Geology”.

After months of seeing steady employment gains in the metal and fossil fuel mining sectors the news of lay-offs is starting to be seen. Jobs in nickel, tin, zinc and coal

Schlumberger’s VP for Worldwide Operations says that within the next few years natural gas will overtake coal as the world’s most commonly used fuel. Part of this increase will be fueled by new gas supplies and some will be used by choice to lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Political candidates and government officials are talking a lot about “clean coal”. Perhaps “cleaner coal” would be a better way of saying it. Coal is an important energy resource and improved ways to mine it, process it, burn it, clean the emissions, and dispose of the ash and emission residue can go a long way to reducing its environmental impact. To dismiss coal as an energy source is irresponsible and to improve how things are done should be a goal.

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama commented on the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal. Both candidates have a negative view of the mining method.

A mining company has a permit to surface mine the coal beneath Coal River Mountain. Others want the site to be used for a long-term wind farm. The current mining plan does not allow both because of topography changes.

The United States has never had a commercial germanium mine. However, some Australians exploring for uranium and molybdenum in North Dakota may have found a deposit that will be workable.

Lots of people are being asked to sell the minerals beneath their property or sign a contract that gives a drilling company the right to explore their property for oil and natural gas. This article explores many aspects of mineral rights, and attempts to inform the potential seller/lessor that the transactions and agreements can be very complex and that advice from an expert is a good idea.

The rising cost of oil has helped push coal prices sharply higher. Appalachia Basin coals have gone from under $50 per ton to over $150 per ton in just the past year. Coals from Illinois and Uinta Basin are also up.

Here is a short story about two high school graduates who went straight to work in an underground coal mine. The attrition rate for new employees is very high but the ones who stay can earn over $23/hour or more with benefits.

This is an article that looks back at the Crandall Canyon, Utah coal mine disaster that happened one year ago on August 6, 2007. Several miners and two rescue workers were killed in the mine.

A report commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia says that Australia will need 86,000 new workers in the mining industry between 2008 and 2020 - a 68% increase. Most of them are expected to go to the iron ore and coal industries and the job descriptions are in the semi-skilled categories.

According to the Utah Geological Survey, “Utah

The Crandall Canyon coal mine collapse in August 2007 was initially attributed (by one of the mine’s owners) to a small earthquake in the area. After almost a year of investigating the incident, seismologists have concluded that it was the other way around.

Carbonoks, a West Virginia manufacturer, is seeking approval for a new portable coal mine rescue chamber. This is a capsule that miners can enter and seal in an emergency. It will protect them from high temperatures and toxic gases. The capsule can be easily moved around the mine on skids or on a shuttle car. It is not yet approved for use but the company says they have 100 interested customers.

The high price of oil is causing some consumers to switch to coal for their energy needs. This is increasing the demand for Kentucky coal. The state has plenty of coal but there is now a shortage of qualified mine workers.

Researchers have evaluated data related to the collapse of the Crandall Canyon Mine in August 2007. They have determined that seismic activity was not to blame. Instead, the collapse was triggered by the mining operations. Six miners were killed in the collapse and three rescuers were killed trying to free them.

It is estimated that there could be $1.5 trillion of coal beneath the ground in Montana. However, the state has not opened a new coal mine in decades. Some believe that the creation of new mines depends on the introduction of a carbon law.

Morgan Spurlock, who became famous for his documentary “Super Size Me”, now goes into the West Virginia coal mines for 30 days as a laborer. He wants anyone who flips on a light switch to know all about the types of work coal miners do.

The Sierra Club is not satisfied with the environmental protection measures of coal-fired power plants in seven states. The Club’s most recent effort targets plants in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri and Wyoming for failing to include adequate pollution controls for mercury and other toxics.

Wyoming is a top producer of coal, oil and natural gas. It is also a state that has a lot of pristine land. These often come into conflict as explored in this New York Times article.

GEOTIMES has an article that explores how Google (the search engine company) is getting involved in energy. Their goal is to develop renewable energy sources that are cost-competitive with coal.

FutureGen is a concept of designing, building, and operating coal-fueled, near-zero emissions power plants. A GEOTIMES article explores some recent changes in direction for this government supported initiative.

China uses coal for about 70 percent of their energy. Even though they are the world’s leading coal producer, they have begun to import it from other countries to meet the rising demand. While using a greater percentage of renewable resources is an attainable goal, industry will probably continue to grow and expand exponentially, and reliance upon coal will not be reduced.

An article in the Wall Street Journal explores how the banks who lend the money that finances coal-fired power plants might get very picky about what projects they lend to. They are looking beyond the finances and into elements of geology and environment.

If you think that coal is a boring black rock then you have never seen it through a transmitted light microscope. Well preserved woody material is bright red, spores are brilliant yellow, algal material is yellow-orange, charcoal and opaque minerals are black, and grains of many transparent minerals are white. It’s hard to believe that coal can be so colorful!

We have a small collection of photos for the most common sedimentary rocks. Included are: Breccia, Chert, Coal, Conglomerate, Iron Ore, Limestone, Rock Salt, Sandstone, Shale and Siltstone.

Coal production in the United States declined slightly - about 1.4 percent (tonnage) - in 2007. The decline was mainly a result of weak demand from utility companies and hit the Appalachian states hardest.