No abstract

No abstract

The 1979 DRB estimate for Alabama's bituminous coal is based on preliminary data developed under a DOE grantl by the Geological Survey of Alabama (GSA). The preliminary data, found in the field office files, consist of 9 sets of handwritten tables, which. present the original resources, remaining resources (as of January 1978), and the 1978 DRB estimates for the Warrior, Plateau andCahaba field. In the 3 sets of tables.presenting the 1978 ORB estimates (one for each coal field), the estimates are broken down by county, bed, reliability category (measured and indicated) bed thickness category (14'-28ff, 28"-42", and > 42"), and potential mining method (strip, covering the coal under 120' of overburden. and less, and underground, covering the coal in the 120'-1000' depth range) .2 At the end of each table the total strippable and underground ORB estimate for each field is given. These totals could not be used in the development of the 1979 ORB, powever, because summation errors had been made, and.because•GSA had includedl4"-28" coal in the 120'-1000' depth category in their es.timates. To calculate the January 1978 ORB using EIA' s standards, the data presented in•. the 3. sets of remaining ,resources tables were keypunched and entered into the computer. State total ORB estimates for surface and underground mining, excluding the 14"-28" underground resources; were calculated. The estimates included strippable coal (0-120' overburden depth) >14" thick in the measured and indicated categories, and underground coal (120'-1000' overburden depth) >28"

The purpose of this report is to document the methodologies used to develop the 1979 Demonstrated• Reserve Base (DRB) of coal. The audience for whom this. report is intended consists of Energy Information Administration (EIA) personnel involved in the development and analysis of coal reserve/resource data. The audience may also include those government employees and private individuals who use directly the annual coal reserve data published by EIA.All primary source documents used to prepare the 1979 ORB were reviewed.Using the methodologies and documentation found in the 1979 DRB published reportl as a guide, each of the state-level published reserve estimates were re-derived. In those cases where the estimates could not be reproduced, EIA personnel from the Eastern and Western Energy Data Offices were consulted and the differences, for the most part, were resolved.Throughout this report an attempt was made to describe the information flow that was'an integral part of the ORB development. Particular attention and emphasis was given to those instances where deviations from standard, published EIA procedures were used to derive the ORB estimates.The main body of this report summarizes the methodological procedures used to develop each state reserve estimate. The appendices.to the report, found in Volume II, provide a detailed description of the entire ORB process.