506 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. March 17, 1916. coals in Westphalia, occur solely in the east. With one exception, their gas content does not fall below 12 per cent. A comparison of the productive carboniferous in the Emscher and Campine districts gives the following results :— Westphalia (Emscher trough). Campine. Thickness. No. of seams. Percentage of coal. Stage. Thickness (estimated). No. of seams. Percen'age of coal. Gas- flaming coal M. 830 20 P.e. 3 I II M. 620 10 P12 P.O 1'6 3'2 Gas coal.. .. 1 Bituminous 1 coal J 300 GOO 10 31 3'6 3'2 III IV Barren msrs. 1680 118 3'5 Lean coal ... 1,050 15 1 V 790 7 1 Total thick- ness 2,780 — Total thick- ness 2,090 — 1 The proportion of the various commercial grades of coal in these reserves is as follows :— Percent. Gas flaming coal ......................... 18’5 Gas coal ................................. 33 Bituminous coal .......................... 21'5 Coking coal, in the strict sense ......... 20 Semi-bituminous (lean) coal .............. 7 Importance of the Campine District. Investigations in the Campine reveal that the coal basin extends, without interruption, over a wide area, and contains a considerable reserve of coal, so that a very large output can be reckoned on in the future. The new installations will be in operation within a few years, and in the course of a decade will be producing about six million tons per annum. Later on there will be a larger number of shafts put down, in order to raise the output, by degrees, to a maximum of 20 million tons per annum. Even though the conditions in the cover rock are very difficult, the fact that several shafts have succeeded in reaching the coal measures proves the possibility of .shaft sinking by the means already known. On the whole the conditions in the cover rock most nearly resemble those met with at the Rheinpreussen Since the amount of coal primarily accessible to mining operations is in inverse proportion to the thickness of the cover rock, the C and B reservations are consider- ably more valuable, in this respect, than A. The successful boring, No. 24, at Lankhaer (+ 91 m.), is in the C reservation, and traverses the following formations :— Down to: Metres. Diluvium ....................... 11'50 Pliocene....................... 106'00 Miocene........................ 133'00 Oligocene ..................... 245'00 Eocene ........................ 300'00 Upper chalk.................... 511'60 Serial Order of Seams in the Productive Carboniferous. Coal: Metres. Gas content: Percent. From 554'90 to 555'48 = 0'58 ... 0'49 m., with 32'2 per cent. (35'6 per cent.). „ 572'55 „ 573'15 = 0'60 ... 0'49m., with 32per cent. (33 per cent.), (dip 10°). , 587'55 „ 583'15 = 0'60 ... 38'2 percent. (38'3 percent.), (dip 10°) „ 590'05 „ 591'25 = 1'20 ... 37'4 and 33'3 per cent. (39'3 per cent.). ,, 645'70 ,, 616'60 = 0'90 ... 0'73 m., with 33'6 per cent., (dip 17°). „ 681'00 ,, 682'08 = 1'08 ... 0'73m., with 15 per cent. Final depth, 686'12m. Fig. 6.—Geological Relations of the Campine and Adjacent Coal Fields. Bo il /foTlerdanf Q 6© a < V & ■ -■ IT yMamz > 1 C I IB V feZe/e » a i S ) Dtnsbura \ 0 / rclerbdrn mill! :::: : •■:::■ Recent. Neogene. ■Ill Chalk. Eocene. Trias. Permian. Carboniferous. Devonian and Siluro- Cambrian. Old Crystalline rocks. Igneous. In th© author’s opinion, however, this correlation is accurate only as regards the more gassy western Campine, since, in the east, stage IV. contains solely semi-bituminous coals with less than 18 per cent, of gas. Hence, if we take collectively the stages II., III. and IV. of the western Campine, on the one hand, and the Westphalian gas and bituminous coals on the other, we obtain two groups which coincide very well. One arrives at the conclusion that, in Northern Belgium, the thick- nesses have contracted to about three-quarters of what they are in Westphalia. Accordingly, the total thickness in the Campine is about 2,100 m., or approximately the same as in the Mons basin. It may also be assumed that 120 m. in the north of stage I., and 90 m. in the lower wall of stage V., are still unknown. Denoel’s calculation reveals the great economic importance of the Campine. Down to a depth of 1,500 m. there are 8,000 million tons of coal, 7,000 millions being in the Province of Limburg, and 1,000 millions in that of Antwerp. Even on the basis of a depth of only 1,000 m., there are 4,000 million tons in Limburg alone. Colliery on the Lower Rhine, where, at the commence- ment of sinking, difficulties that appeared for the moment insuperable were encountered, but were eventually overcome. At this colliery, too, it was feared that coal winning would be impossible under the water- bearing cover rock; but the trouble was got over by leaving a safety pillar. Although the sinking of the first shafts in the Campine has already been, 'and will be also in the future, attended with numerous disagreeable features, there is no doubt but that the skill of mining engineers will eventually enable the desired aim to be accomplished. Reservation of Campine Properties by the Belgian State. The Belgian State, by the Law of June 5, 1911, reserved in the Campine three hitherto unproved pro- perties covering a total area of 200 sq. kiloms. These reservations are marked A, B, and C on figs. 1 and 4. Of these, B and C extend transversely across the Cam- pine coal field, and are therefore favourably situated, whereas A lies in a less advantageous position, parallel to the line of strike on the northern boundary of the district explored up to the present. In the C reservation, in the east of the Campine, the thickness of the cover rock is about 385 m. in the south, and 680m. in the north; in the B reservation, in the middle of the Campine, it is 450 m. in the south and 700 m. in the north; and in the western reservation A, about 700 m. in the south and 850 m. in the north. The B reservation has been proved by borings No. 30 and 47. Boring No. 30, at Meeuwen (+ 82 m.), gave :— Down to: Metres. Diluvium ....................... 5'50 Pliocene...................... 127'00 Miocene ...................... 199'50 Oligocene and eocene ......... 412'00 Upper chalk................... 656'00 Trias ........................ 670'00 Serial Order of Seams in the Productive Carboniferous. Coal: Metres. Gas content: Per cent. From 686'50 to 687'00 = 1'40 ... 40'4 per cent. (39'1 percent. (dip 15°). „ 758'40 ,, 758'95 = 0'55 ... 32 per cent, (dip 13°). ,, 853'35 „ 853'75 — 0'40 ... 39 per cent, (dip 12°). „ 995'60 „ 996'54 = 0'94 ... Final depth, 996'54 m. According to Forir, the boring No. 47 at Kelgterhof, Houthaelen (+ 75 m.), traversed :— Down to: Metres. Alluvium ...................... 1'60 Diluvium .................... 74'25 Pliocene.................... 106'85 Miocene...................... 228 50 Oligocene ................... 323 20 Eocene ...................... 332'82 Upper chalk.................. 587'05