Coal provinces, regions and belts

Abstract

The issue of coal provinces is of great practical importance. It is closely related to forecasts in the search for new or abandoned coal deposits and the prediction of possible qualities of coal in unexplored areas. Therefore, not only coal geology is interested in establishing coal provinces, but also prospecting and exploration and the coal industry. This issue can only be correctly resolved as a result of a thorough comparative study of coal basins and the generalization of individual coal occurrences into a single whole. However, it cannot be separated from the discussion of the scope and of larger and smaller subdivisions than the province. The next and smaller subdivision unit is the coal basin. A province consists of several basins and isolated deposits. The basin itself is divided into a number of regions and deposits. The boundaries of these concepts are quite clear. The issue of larger units of the coal hierarchy is much less developed. Academician P. I. Stepanov introduced the concept of coal accumulation belts into science. By coal accumulation belt he means that "...area of the earth's surface within which, during a certain geological period, the most abundant accumulation of carbonaceous deposits and coal masses occurred."

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