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. ..'... t:o o C} . . Trl,: 2co~omi~ recovc~2bility of c021 and esti~2t2S of the total aV2ilable resource d2p~nds on the t~ick~es5 of ~oal beds. ?or h~gh2r rank, hLz~er value coals, bed3 as thin 25 14 inches u.ay be considerec econcmically feasible [or mining. For lo~er ranks of coal, such ~s suboitu~inous and lignite, beds are considered sinable if they are betVlee~ 2~ to 10 f~et thick (Averitt, 1975)*. Thicknes:s of oV2rburd2f1. is also a factor in the recoverability of co~l and in determining the method of mining u3ed; e.g., hhether ~r not less expensiv~ st~tp ~ining met nods are feasible. The following is a state-by-state analysis of the five-state area or the Uppe~ Colorado ~iver Region incluji~g ~SAs 1401, 1402 aOG 1403. Arizona is the only state which has no coal deposits ~ithL~ the drainage basin. Arizona's principal coal-bearing regioc i~ the Black Hesa Field w-hich extends south and west of the Upper Cclorado Rive:.r Region. :!ining is cu:'"t"encly u~.der ",Jay there ':hough no c:!.2.im ~2.5 ~e.e:\ iJlade to Colorado Ri'.'er water for the ~ini~g a:1d t!:'a~.sport3.tion c.:ti'/ities at Slack ~':esa. Colorado's :!l.ost signifL::a.nc: 0::::a1 de.;:lOsits and r.l.iniL1.g c..c~'::"'liti2S ::;.re ~ithin th~ drainage syste~ of the Upper Colorado River R~gion. Averitt (1975) indicates C~2.t Colorado has esti~atej re~2rVes of 4J~ billicn tor.s of :oa1, repr2se~tir.g 11 perce~t of the coc21 Unit~d States coal T2source. The Colorado Geologic21 Survey is currently comple~i~5 2 ne~ coal inventory ror. the state .....hich may a.lter these figures (Da'N~'.Jl! a:1d :.Iurny, 1973). . The Green ~lver and Sand ~ash basins i~ the n0~thwescern part of the scate (ASA 1401) aTe the leading areas in present p~oductio~ 3[lJ tocal in-place resour~es. Colorado coal is of such good qt12licy that it is i~ demand for steam electric generation a~d metallurgical gr2d~ applications. Though =h2=~ are a ;reat numbeT of underground mi~es, they tend to be small and r2pres2nt lo~er production tha!l the few larger mi'l~s. New ~lexico's ~ajor portion of tIle coal picture comes [rom the San Juan region in the northwest ccr~er of the state, The predominantly surface mines or this region produce coals rangi~g f~om subbitu~ino~s A to high volatile C bitL.:r.linous, none of t.;hich are of coking quality. The coal is being used in ct.-.o n2.arby pm-l2r ge:-:erating ?lants and, in addition, two coal gasification plants are proposad for S2n Juan County, In ~, much or the coal is in the north eastern ?o~tion of the state in the Upper Colorado Rive~ Region. The majority of the ~i~es are undergrou~d and pruduction curren:ly is abo~t 10 million tons pe= year. ~~ost coals in Ut2.h range in. 'L.3.nk becween 9,800 3tu/lb 2nd 12,600 Seu/lb. Due to the primarily underg:ound mining t2c~ni~u2s, cost3 are ~e12tively hig~ tor coal production. *Se~ ~ibl~o5raph: ~c the e~d of A~pendix s: Ccal ?,E:sources. 1-/,