Pitmatic Notes

More notes from 'Pitmatic' by Bill Griffiths:

p86 There are three grades of coal: lignite, bituminous and anthracite. The Great North East Coalfield is almost exclusively of bituminous coals. 'Bituminous coal - coloured brown to black, is mostly used for industrial purposes'.

p93 'As the seams vary within a coalfield, and can have different local names' the Coal Board assigned letter references to each seam. The start of the alphabet is the shallowest and each subsequent letter gets deeper. So Hutton (L) is near to the surface and Brockwell (S) is deep down.

p95 'Coal seams occur in sedimentary layers, approximate to the ancient land surface on which they were laid down. Horizontal once, they now tilt significantly, being nearer the surface in the north and west of the coalfield, deeper in the east: accordingly the passages in a pit do not proceed on an even plane. With no horizon to compare it with, the incline of a seam and roadway that follows it might not be immediately obvious'.

p102 'As to the extraction of coal, the land-owner has the mineral rights on his property, and could either start mining or issue a lease to someone to do the mining, in return for royalties'.