Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources
Science
Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources
Geology, Economic; Mines and mineral resources
5. Countries possessing coal reserves, but of inferior magnitude
(less than 4,000 million tons): Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru,
Ecuador, Venezuela, Greenland, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Italy,
Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Roumania, Asia Minor, Persia, Arabia,
various islands of Malaysia and various countries in Africa. Coal
fields shown in black--country not shaded.
[Illustration: PLATE II.--Geographical distribution of the coal
deposits of the world, and relative reserves. By F. F. Grout.]
In _Europe_ the principal coal deposits occur in the Carboniferous
system, either in the upper or the lower part. The Lower Carboniferous
is the principal series in which coals occur in Scotland, whereas the
most important coals in England and in Wales lie in Upper Carboniferous
rocks. In northern France, in Belgium, and in Westphalia, Germany, the
middle Carboniferous measures contain the most important reserves.
Mesozoic coals are found in northern Australia and in central France.
The lignites or brown coals of middle Europe are locally very important
in Germany; those of Austria are found in numerous small but thick
deposits of the Tertiary age.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Coal output of the chief coal-producing
countries, 1880-1916.]
The principal coal resources of _Africa_ are in the southern part
of the continent and are chiefly in deposits whose ages range from
Carboniferous to Triassic.
In _Asia_ the coal fields are not well defined. There are coal basins
of note in India and China. In China important coals are found in the
Upper Carboniferous. Coals of the Lower Carboniferous are found east
of the Urals and also in Turkestan. In Japan the Mesozoic coals are
important. Tertiary coals are widely distributed in Asia but are not
high-grade nor of importance.
It may be safely stated that geological reconnoissance has covered
the world so well that further development is not likely to disclose
coal resources of great magnitude not now known with more or less
exactitude. Estimates of resources of some regions will undoubtedly be
revised many times, especially those of reserves in the middle portion
of Africa, in South America, and China.
COAL PRODUCTION OF THE WORLD IN 1913
As the great World War began on July 31, 1914, the last normal
production figures were for 1913. The following table of the world’s
production of coal for the years 1911-1914 is from “Mineral Resources”
of the U. S. Geological Survey, the compilation being credited by Mr.
Lesher, of the Survey, to Mr. Wm. G. Gray, statistician of the American
Iron and Steel Institute, and Prof. G. A. Roush, editor of “Mineral
Industry.”
The output (1880-1916) of the chief coal-producing countries of the
world is shown graphically in Figure 3.
TABLE 4.--THE WORLD’S PRODUCTION OF COAL (IN SHORT TONS)
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