Coal Tonnage Calculator
Online from Area, Thickness and Specific Gravity
(Estimating Coal Tonnage)
You can calculate the "total coal tonnage in a property"
using the online calculator included in this page. The equations used
for the calculation of coal tonnage are explained in details. This
calculator report "IN PLACE COAL TONS"
without applying any mining recovery factor or plant loss. This online
coal tonnage calculator also gives you the "in-place coal tons per acre
foot" values from the specific gravity of the coal seam. For bituminous
coal 1800 tons per acre-ft is commonly
used. However, if you have laboratory data for the specific gravity of
the coal
seam, you can derive a better number for the coal tonnage per
acre-feet.
Required Parameters that
you must know:
- Area - Usually in square feet or in acres.
- Coal seam height - usually in feet or in meters
- Specific gravity of coal seam - unit-less, usually from lab
analysis. (specific gravity - The ratio of the weight of an object in
air to the weight of an equal volume of water. The specific gravity1 of
bituminous coal ranges between 1.1 5 and 1.5 depending on rank,
moisture content, and ash content, and averages 1.32.)
1. Equation for the
determination of Tons per acre-foot
is as below:
Coal tons per acre feet= (62.4 lbs/cubic feet x 43,560 ft3 natural
resource/acre x
Specific
Gravity)/2000 lbs/ton
2. Equation for the
determination of Coal Tons
is as below:
Coal tons = Acres * Coal thickness* (coal tons per acre feet)
Conversion factors:
- Specific gravity of bituminous coal = 1.32
- 1 ft3 of water = 62.6 lbs
- 1 acre = 43,560 ft2
- 1 ton = 2,000 lbs
Input the required parameters:
Because specific gravity
varies with rank, different ranks of coal have different conversion
factors.
- Anthracite: specific gravity = 1.47, so the conversion
factor is 2,000 tons/acre foot
- Bituminous: specific gravity = 1.32, which is 1,800
tons/acre foot
- Subbituminous: specific gravity = 1.30, which is 1,770
tons/acre foot
- Lignite: specific gravity = 1.29, which is 1,750 tons/acre
foot
Similar calculations for other mined minerals yield the following
results:
- Limestone = 3600 acre-lt.
- Sandstone = 3300 acre-ft.
- ClayIShale = 3250 acre-ft.
- Sand~Gravel = 2400 acre-ft.
- Salt = 2950 acre-fi.
More resources: http://www.uky.edu/KGS/coal/estimatingTons.htm
Please contact Ankan Basu, P.G; at admin@coalgeology.com if you have any questions.