This report includes a review and analysis of the relevant geological information that is available on the Wilkeson-Carbonado coal field in Pierce County, Washington.The coal deposits are in the Puget Group of Eocene age, which has been intensely folded and faulted, and in places intruded by igneous rocks. Much of the coal-bearing sequence is concealed by glacial deposits and a dense forest growth, so exposures of bedrock are rare. Detailed geologic knowledge of the coal-bearing sequence is confined to areas of extensive mining, and very little is known about the geology of the intervening areas or the relation of the geology of one mine area to another. About 40 coal beds, which vary from a few inches to 23 feet in thickness, occur in a dominantly siltstone-sandstone sequence more than 8,000 feet thick. The Wilkeson-Carbonado coal field has significant reserves of metallurgical coal, probably 60 to 125 million tons. Most of the easily accessible coal has been mined, and part of the remaining estimated coal resources may be uneconomical to mine because of prior mining. Coal in the Wilkeson-Carbonado coal field ranges in rank from high-volatile A bituminous to low-volatile bituminous. The coal in the beds in the upper part of the coal-bearing sequence is generally noncoking, however, coal in the lower part of the sequence has good coking qualities.The coal has a low sulfur content, generally less than 1 percent; the ash content is rather high, ranging from 8 to 23 percent. Most of the coal is fractured and brittle enough to be classed as friable. About 21 million tons of coal has been produced from the 12 beds that were workable under past market conditions.Water supply and quality in the Carbon River and South Prairie Creek drainages appear to be adequate for hydraulic coal mining, assuming a recycled water supply. However, the selection of a site in the Wilkeson-Carbonado coal field for hydraulic mining experiments, or the possible development of a producing mine using hydraulic mining concepts, will require careful consideration of many adverse geologic conditions.The steeply dipping and fault terminated coal beds present many mining difficulties that will require ingenuity and resourceful engineering to make hydraulic mining a successful venture.It is recommended that very detailed investigations of the geology and hydrology of the Wilkeson-Carbonado coal field be made prior to selection of a mine site and to verify the feasibility of hydraulic mining.
23. Cumulative concentrations of alkalinity, dissolved sulfate, dissolved solids, and total iron from the soxhlet extraction analysis of coal seam No. 1, Gallop Creek, near Glacier,
4. Map showing the distribution of irrigated acreage and location of selected wells with long-term records of water levels and
Ground water-surface water relationships were studied in five morphologic segments in the Bonaparte Creek basin during 1979 and 1980. In one segment, kettle lakes were found to be closely associated with the groundwater system. In the other four segments, a close relationship was found between streamflow and ground water. On the basis of the 1979-80 information, it was concluded that additional groundwater development would adversely affect lake levels and streamflow, thereby reducing surface-water resources already closed to further appropriation. The groundwater divide between the Bonaparte and Sanpoil basins was 6 miles southeast of where it was previously thought to be.
Introduction Presentation of data Methods of analysis Chemical and physical methods Biological methods Definition of terms References cited ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURES 1-9. Maps showing locations of: 1. Major coal-bearing areas in Washington 9 2. Coal mines sampled in Whatcom County coal deposits 3. Coal mines sampled in Skagit County coal deposits 4. Coal mines sampled in Issaquah-Grand Ridge area, Green River coal district, and Roslyn coal field 5. Coal mines sampled in Wilkeson-Carbonado coal field and Fairfax-Ashford coal area 6. Sampling stations in the Gallop Creek basin 7. Sampling stations in the Loretta Creek basin 8. Sampling stations in the Skookum mine drainage system and in Wilkeson Creek 9. Coal mines sampled in Centralia-Chehalis coal district and Eastern Lewis County coal deposits 10. Diagrammatic cross section showing borehole hydraulic coal mining process
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