Coal—A Window to Past Climate and Vegetation

The Politics Behind Some Mining Considerations

“…The GB coals are within the oil window [1] and some macerals generated oil which is retained within the coal micropores and coal cleats in the form of bitumen which is the source of methane in deeper parts of the basin [2]. The bitumen is also a cause of spontaneous combustion in many coals [3].…”

“…However, if the environmental implications of this type of insitu extracted crude oil are to be considered they outweigh any political or economic benefits. The 'fracking' methods used to induce oil flow from a tightly consolidated rock such as shales require not just fracturing the rock but also injecting water containing various chemicals to induce flow from a solid state, since the 'oil' is retained within the pores and fine fractures of the coal in a solid form referred to as bitumen [2,3,6].…”