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Our Purpose

Policy makers in all corners of the globe require accurate information on coal, including coal quality data, to make informed decisions regarding international import needs and export opportunities, foreign policy objectives, technology transfer policies, foreign investment prospects, environmental and health assessments, and byproduct use and disposal issues. Unfortunately, the information needed is generally not available because much of the data are in publications that may not be readily available, commonly in the native languages of the authors; the data reside in paper files that are not readily accessible; geographic coverages are not comprehensive; may be incompatible with accepted analytical schemes; the coal samples analyzed may not be representative of the enitre deposit, or the samples may have been collected and analyzed years to decades ago; and information is lacking on trace element concentrations, mineralogy, and modes of occurrence.

For these reasons, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Eastern Energy Resources Team, in conjunction with partners from most of the world’s coal-producing countries, has initiated an integrated electronic database – the World Coal Quality Inventory (WoCQI). The Eastern Energy Team is one of three Teams within the Energy Resources Program of the USGS that provides earth-science information for identifying and assessing economically stable and environmentally sound energy resources. The Team’s WoCQI project database contains coal quality information for samples representing main coal beds in all of the major coal-producing countries, as well as from many smaller coal producers and emphasizes coals currently being burned. The information in the database includes, but is not limited to, proximate and ultimate analyses, sulfur-form data, major, minor, and trace elements, semi-quantitative analyses of minerals, modes of occurrence, washability, petrography, and other actors that affect technological behavior, economic byproduct recovery, and environmental impact.

The coal quality information will be linked to Geographic Information System (GIS) databases that show coal basins and sample locations along with geologic, land use, transportation, industrial, cultural, and environmental information. WoCQI data will be accessible on the USGS energy web page through GEODE. This multi-national cooperation in developing a reliable, comprehensive, global coal quality database that contains a broad array of technologic, economic, and environmental parameters should help to ensure the efficient and environmentally compatible use of our global coal resources in the 21st Century.