14 Billion Tons

14 Billion Ton

Wyoming knew it had coal beds in its northeastern corner but it did not know how big they were. Last week, Wyoming and the U. S. learned that Wyoming has nearly as much coal as all the coal that was ever mined in the U. S.

The Department of the Interior published a report by Geologists C. E. Dobbin, V. H. Barnett and W. T. Thom Jr. of the U. S. Geological Survey. They said that the 75-foot coal seams near Minturn, Wyo., are only part of huge system of seams embracing Campbell, Crook, Weston, Toniobrara and Converse Counties, which contain some 14 billion tons. Some 17.8 billion tons is the U. S. coal mining total to date.

At Gillette, Wyo., as at Minturn and elsewhere in the region, the coal deposits are on or near the earth's surface. A few country mines are operating. Ranchers have long scraped what they needed for household fires from outcroppings in bluffs and streambeds. Large-scale production can be accomplished by "stripping" the seams from above. Tunnelling will seldom be necessary.

The Gillette field is crossed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R. on the north. The Chicago & Northwestern R. R. passes within 25 miles of its southern edge. None of the coal is more than 60 miles from shipping point.

In grade, the Gillette coal is a sub-bituminous kind called black lignite--tough, deliquescent, easily crumbled when exposed to air, when it also tends to combust spontaneously. Storage of it requires a special technic, but since one-third of its weight is water it is cheaply shipped after treatment. Valuable by-products result and the coal itself--or some like it--has been found serviceable in specially built locomotives, by the C. B. & Q. and the Chicago & Northwestern R. R.'s Much of the Gillette field is owned by the U. S., which can lease it under the mineral lease law of 1920.

The Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., stands ready to furnish copies of the Geological Survey's report.