Abstract
The Harlan, Kellioka, and Darby coals in Harlan County, Kentucky, have been among the highest quality coals mined in the Central Appalachians. The Middle Pennsylvanian coals are correlative with the Upper Elkhorn No. 1 to Upper Elkhorn No. 3½ coals to the northwest of the Pine Mountain thrust fault. Much of the mining traditionally was controlled by captive, steel-company-owned mines and the coal was part of the high volatile A bituminous portion of the coking coal blend. Overall, the coals are generally low-ash and low-sulfur, contributing to their desirability as metallurgical coals. We did observe variation both in geochemistry, such as individual lithologies with significant P2O5/Ba + Sr/Rare earth concentrations, and in maceral content between the lithotypes in the mine sections.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 894-918 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Minerals |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 11 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Keywords
- Coal quality
- Coking coal
- Mining history
- Pennsylvanian
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
- Geology