Papers - Mining - Occurrence and Flow of Gas in the Pocahontas No. 4 Coal Bed in Southern West Virginia

This paper represents the results of a study to determine the source, mode of occurrence and conditions influencing the flow and liberation of large volumes of inflammable gas in the Pocahontas No. 4 coal bed in southern West Virginia. A study of this kind is of interest in connection with mine ventilation, because in the removal of gases from coal mines it is very important to know the origin, the occurrence and laws of gas flow. The study was started in April, 1931, and the data and observations were obtained throughout a period of 15 months of field work. Geology The country where this study was made is mountainous and rugged; great cliffs, precipitous slopes and deep narrow gorges are found throughout the area. The outcropping rocks consist of stratified layers of sandstone, shale, limestone and deposits of coal of Carboniferous age. The Pottsville series of the Pennsylvanian, lying at the base of this period, cover the greater portion of the area. A stratigraphic section of the Pocahontas group of the Pottsville series is shown in Fig. 3. The older rocks outcrop in the extreme southeastern part of the area, but are under drainage in the central and northern parts due to the gradual northwest dip of the strata. The structure has a general northeast-southwest trend (Fig. 1). North of Dry Fork anticline the strata have been only slightly disturbed by movements of the earth's crust; it is now a long monocline. Southeast1 of Dry Fork anticline the strata are warped into great arches and deep troughs and are broken by overthrust faults. All of this folding is probably the result of the intense folding associated with the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Pocahontas No. 4 Coal Bed The Pocahontas No. 4 bed, lying approximately 550 ft. above the base of the Pottsville series, is one of the thickest and most gassy coal beds in