Abstract: Colorado Coal--Outlook for Future

D. K. Murray

The coal resources of Colorado, which underlie nearly 30 percent of the state, constitute its largest available source of energy. Estimated in-place coal resources to depths of 3,000 ft amount to over 200 billion tons. Colorado ranks 7th in total U.S. recoverable reserves and 14th in production. Since 1864, over 560 million tons of coal has been mined in the state. During 1973, 6.2 million tons was produced by 25 underground and 8 open-cut ("strip") mines; in 1918, the record year, 12.6 million tons was produced. Colorado coal typically is of low sulfur content (less than 1 percent) and high heat value (averaging 11,370 BTU/lb, as received). Nearly 40 percent of the state's current production consists of bituminous metallurgical-grade coking coal, used in the western U.S. steel industry. More than 80 percent of Colorado's coal resource is mineable by underground methods. Much of the state's coal is of higher rank and heat value and lower moisture and ash content than the vast strippable resources of the Northern Great Plains. Announced and rumored plans by coal companies suggest that Colorado's annual production could increase several fold in the next decade, provided that sufficient manpower, capital, and equipment can be obtained. The steady increase in demand for low-sulfur, high-BTU coal for power generating and metallurgical uses, coupled with the fact that many of the rights to the resource are under private or state ownership, assures a bright future for Colorado coal industry.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90979©1975 AAPG – SEPM Rocky Mountain Sections Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico