RI 3795 Preparation Tests of Lignite from a Deposit Near Toledo, Lewis County, Wash

Fuel requirements of the Pacific Northwest have been increased greatly by the war . To the normal peacetime demands for fuel have been added the requirements of new industrial and metallurgical plants engaged in war production , the increased demand arising from expansion of existing industrial establishments , increased amounts of railroad fuel required to handle wartime traffic , and increased quantities of domestic fuel required by the influx of war workers . In the face of these augmented demands for fuel shipments of fuel oil have been curtailed , wood fuel which normally is an important factor in both industrial and domestic markets of the area is less abundant , and the production of coal in Washington has decreased sharply . The fuel requirements of the region have been met so far by shipping large tonnages of coal into the Pacific Northwest from Utah , Wyoming , Montana , and Colorado ; the quantity received from these States and Canada in 1943 amounted to 2,688,9124/ tons , 175 percent of the Washington production . or The proximity of the Washington coal mines to large centers of war production has resulted in widespread migration of miners to employment in shipyards and aircraft plants ; the ensuing shortage of miners largely accounts for the decreased production of coal in the State . Hence , strip mining , which requires relatively few workers and a shorter time for development , offers an attractive means of alleviating the local coal shortage and obviating the necessity of shipping coal from the producing areas of the Rocky Mountain States to the Pacific.coast . So urgent has been the necessity for augmenting local coal production that any coal property that promises to be amenable to strip mining , even though the coal may be inferior in quality , has warranted examination . Even low- grade coals that cannot compete in the normal market can be used locally , thus releasing better coals for shipment to critical centers. of consumption ... One such deposit of low- rank fuel examined by the Bureau of Mines is in western Lewis County , about 9 miles east of Toledo , Wash . The coal is lignitic and on the as - received basis has a heating value of 6,000 to 6,500 B.t.u. per pound . The property is of interest primarily because the physical conditions favor operation by stripping and offer opportunities for low- cost production with very low manpower requirement .