U.S. Geologists Digging For Unweathered Coal Near Pole

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29724, 18 January 1962, Page 14

U.S. Geologists Digging For Unweathered Coal Near Pole

There are strong indications that coking coal may be present in the Central Horlick Mountains. only 350 miles from the South Pole. An American geologist says a minable reserve of coking coal could possibly serve as the basis for the first industry in the Antarctic. Working in what can accurately be called Antarctica’s first coal mine, five geologists from the Ohio State University are digging for something never before obtained in the continent unweathered coal, says a National Science Foundation release To find it the scientists (nay have to drill and blast 50 feet into a mountainside But even if they do not reach it they will have secured the deepest coal sample and the closest thing to a standard analytic coal sample ever found in the Antarctic. The scientists are working on a bed about 11 feet thick in one of the ledges of Terrace Ridge, the north-west-ern approach to Mount Schopf. a 10.000 ft flat-topped mountain in the Central Horlicks. This is an area where previous coal finds were made by last season's university party. In aero temperatures and with wind gusts up to 70 miles an hour the men are slowly working into the low est potentially minable, yet readily accessible, section of the coal bed Already they have penetrated to a depth of about 15ft at the bottom and Bft at the top of what they call the "Dirty Diamond Mine” The mine is about 12ft wide and 14ft high at the entrance.

Serving as consultant to the university party is Dr J M Schopf. supervising geologist of the United States Geological Survey's Coal Geology Laboratory The eoal is of high rank and probably semi-an'hra-eite according to Dr Schopf Emphasising his belief that the kind of coal most in demand in the world today is that which will produce metallurgical coke. Dr Schopf said that a mineable reserve of coking coal could

possibly serve as the basis for the continent’s first (industry. Although igneous intrusions had "baked" the coal in many areas of the Horlicks so that it would no longer coke, he said, there was evidence that strongly indicated coking coal might be present there.

Sampling the coal from the "Dirty Diamond Mine” would enable scientists to determine its characteristics, which in ’urn. would permit determination of its economic potential he said The coal, like other coal found in the Antarctic, has a high oxygen Content. In temperate zones high oxygen content was generally encountered in low-rank or in

weathered coals. A possible explanation for the high oxygen content in outcrop samples of the high-rank coals found in Antarctica said Dr. Schopf, was the extremely dry atmosphere of the continent where there was only wind erosion and frost action but no water erosion.

Hard Coal has been found in many widespread areas of the Antarctic ever since Shackleton discovered it near the head of the Beardmore glacier 54 years ago All the coal samples have been taken at or very near the surface. No previous samples have been obtained that were not long exposed to the severe action of the elements.