Investigation of Deep and Low-Sulfur Coal Possibilities in Ohio

Ernie R. Slucher, Douglas L. Crowell

Clean-air legislation and the oil embargo of the early 1970s resulted in a reevaluation of fossil fuels and substitutes that could supply the future energy demands of America. Consequently, a need to explore and evaluate the potential of deep and especially low-sulfur coal resources in the Appalachian basin was created. In 1968, the Division of Geological Survey began the first of what has been a series of core-drilling projects to investigate these potential deep-coal resources in Ohio. Over a 10-year period, 1968-1978, three deep-coal drilling projects, consisting of 60 holes and resulting in 55,440 ft of core, were completed by contract drilling companies. Continued interest expressed by the division's constituency combined with a legislative mandate to map and report on the geology and mineral resources of the state prompted the division in 1981, to acquire the drilling equipment needed to perform these tasks. Since 1985, drilling for evaluation of deep-coal resources has been performed in conjunction with bed-rock mapping. As of this writing, the division's drilling rigs have been involved in 13 projects generating over 63,000 ft of core.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91023©1989 AAPG Eastern Section, Sept. 10-13, 1989, Bloomington, Indiana.