CORRELATION BETWEEN ASH CONTENTS AND INTERCALATIONS OF BARREN ROCKS IN SELECTED DEPOSITS OF BITUMINOUS COAL – THE LUBLIN COAL BASIN CASE STUDY, POLAND

• Published in: International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference : SGEM Vol. 17; no. 1.1; pp. 117 - 123
• Main Authors: Sermet, Edyta, Musiał, Angelika, Paszek, Martyna
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Sofia Surveying Geology & Mining Ecology Management (SGEM) 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Ash content; Ashes; Basins; Bituminous coal; Boreholes; Carboniferous; Case studies; Clay; Coal; Coal mining; Correlation; Deposits; Exploitation; Exploration; Gangue; Geology; Parameters; Production costs; Quality; Rock; Rocks; Sediments; Shales; Slates; Thickness; Poland
• ISSN: 1314-2704
• DOI: 10.5593/sgem2017/11

The characteristic thickness and type of intercalations is important when assessing the suitability of bituminous coal deposits for exploitation. The data on coal partings is of key importance due to a number of factors, including: the optimum selection of technological processes of exploitation, the quantity of resources, the quality of the coal output, the cost of production and processing of coal, and the variability of quality parameters of coal - in that case, the ash content in the examined seams is worth special attention. Gangue partings are usually the source of critical elements. The Lublin Coal Basin (LCB) is one of the three bituminous coal basins in Poland. It is located in the central-eastern part of the country. Within the basin, 11 bituminous coal deposits were explored and evaluated over an area of about 1.200 km2 in the Lower Carboniferous formations of the Lublin region. According to the assessment report, the average thickness of extractable coal seams is 1.5-1.6 m. Intercalations of barren rocks are commonly observed in the LCB. Most of them are represented by argillaceous shales, carbonaceous claystones, clay-slates, in addition, coal shales can also be observed. The average thickness of gangue partings is in the range from 0.15 to 0.6 m. The occurrence of gangue partings affects one of the key quality parameters of coal - namely the ash content. This paper discusses the correlation between the ash content and intercalations in the selected deposits of the Lublin Coal Basin. The study used the archival data on exploration boreholes. The number of boreholes for individual deposits of the Lublin Coal Basin is highly variable and ranges from 16 to 50.