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• A suitability comparison of the physical and chemical properties of the coal <br />amended soils at the Southfield Mine created by mining that occurred <br />upwards of 52 years prior to sampling suggests that pH of one sample of the <br />coal amended soils is slightly inferior to that found on sites without waste <br />coal. However, soils that have received coal waste in the past were definitely <br />superior with respect to nitrogen levels, Fe, Mn, and Cu levels. Overall, it <br />appears that the addition of waste coal to the soils at the Southfield Mine <br />improves their overall reclamation suitability as potential plant growth media <br />as measured by the established topsoil suitability criteria. <br />OVERBURDEN SAMPLING <br />At the time the original permit application was prepared by Dorchester <br />Coal a total of five drill holes were sampled to determine the characteristics <br />of the roof and floor material. Three holes sampled the Red Arrow Seam and <br />two drill holes sampled the Dirty Jack O'Lantern Seam. These data are <br />presented in the Tables 5 and 6. <br />A t-test comparison of these data was conducted to determine 'rf possible <br />differences with respect to geochemistry existed. Frstly, the average <br />properties of the Red Arrow Seam and Dirty Jack O'Lantern were compared. <br />This comparison revealed that two of the measured properties were different. <br />The pH of the Red Arrow Seam was signficantly lower (8.65 versus 8.85) at <br />• the 0.05 level of signficance, while the SP was signficantly lower (30.6 versus <br />32.6) at the 0.10 level of significance. Upon comparing the mean roof and <br />floor properties it was determined that only the suHur forms were different. <br />The percent pyrite (roof=1.344 and floor=0.050) and percent total sulfur <br />(roof=1.412 and floor=0.118) were signficantly higher for the roof samples <br />at the 0.05 level of significance. The percent sulfate sulfur (roof=0.010 and <br />floor=0.000) was higher for the roof samples. The means were signficantly <br />different at the 0.10 level. An interpretation of the elevated sulfur forms in the <br />roof material would be that placement of the roof materials near the surface <br />of the refuse pile would result in more oxidization than 'rf floor materials were <br />placed near the surface. <br />COAL SAMPLING <br />An anaysis of the suHur forms for the two coal seams being mined at the <br />Southfield Mine are presented in Table 7. It suggests that the sulfur content <br />of the Red Arrow Seam is slightly higher than corresponding sulfur values <br />found in the Dirty Jack O'Lantern Seam. These trends are consistent with <br />those found in the samples analyzed for roof and floor analyses, presented <br />in Tables 5 and 6. <br />Upon comparing these coal suHur content values with sulfur values from the <br />roof and floor samples presented in Tables 5 and 6 it appears that the levels <br />of pyritic sulfur are higher in the roof and floor materials while the organic <br />• sufur content is much higher in the coal. <br />27 <br />