--> ABSTRACT: Fort Union Lignite Consortium: an NCRDS Perspective, by Susan J. Tewalt and Robert B. Finkelman; #91033 (2010)

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Fort Union Lignite Consortium: an NCRDS Perspective

Susan J. Tewalt, Robert B. Finkelman

The Fort Union lignite region covers more than 200,000 km2 and includes parts of four states and three Canadian provinces. Technological and environmental concerns caused by the use of these lignites are broad in scope. To address these problems, the Fort Union Lignite Consortium has recently been formed. Organizations currently involved in the consortium include the University of North Dakota Energy and Mineral Research Center, University of North Dakota School of Engineering and Mines, North Dakota Geological Survey, South Dakota School of Mines, Valley City State University, Montana Bureau of Mines, Pennsylvania State University, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Collaborative and individual research efforts will focus on deciphering depositional environments, determining local and regional trends in lignite quality, assessing environmental impacts of mining and usage, and predicting technological behavior of the lignite.

One approach to examining lignite quality trends is to use information stored in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS). The USCHEM database in the NCRDS contains analyses of 276 lignite beds from 186 locations in North Dakota and Montana. Each sample was analyzed for 128 parameters including proximate and ultimate analysis, forms of sulfur, Btu, ash fusion temperatures, and major, minor, and trace elements. Preliminary statistical analyses of the data show wide regional variation in the concentrations of several trace elements, such as barium, zirconium, arsenic, and selenium. Study of these elements and technologically significant parameters, such as Na2O and ash content, is continuing. Graphics capabilities of the NCRDS allow map plotting of these variables to discern geographic trends.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91033©1988 AAPG Rocky Mountain Section, Bismarck, North Dakota, 21-24 August 1988