A total of 25 rotary cored holes were drilled by the Bureau in Portion 49, Parish of Wallarah, County Northumberland, 2 miles south of Swansea. Approximately 1400 ft. of "test and define" drilling proved a possible 200,000 tons of coal suitable to be open cut under an average overburden of 6/1 ratio. The initial drilling programme showed a rolling seam. After surveying, further holes were drilled to locate the displacement which is 10 to 15 ft. in the S.W. corner of the area. No other obstacles are known which would hinder immediate working of the area. The lower split of the Wallarah Seam was tested in three holes but was found to be too thin to warrant further prospecting. The geology of the area is discussed in this report, and the results of the drilling programme are shown in the accompanying graphic and bore logs.

During late 1951 and early 1952 the Bureau, while searching for open-cut coal in New South Wales, prospected the Big Ben and Donaldson's Seams in the Bloomfield Area which is 3.5 miles south of East Maitland. Drilling involving 21 holes and totalling about 2400 ft. revealed that although the actual coal of the seams was quite good in parts, the seams themselves were subject to marked bending, thinning, and splitting. This not only severely limits open-cut prospects to small areas but will make mining difficult. In the contiguous East Bloomfield, Stoney Pinch and Thornton Areas an additional 16 holes with a total footage of 2,250 feet were drilled and indicated that the seams were characterised by the same rapid variation and offer no better possibilities than the main Bloomfield Area. Operations, including mining, coal analyses, logging, and surveying are discussed. Bore logs and the results of coal sample analyses are appended to this report.

The area investigated lies on the outskirts of Kotara, a suburb in the S.W. of Newcastle. The coal of interest is in the Burwood Seam. Drilling, field work, and surveying were carried out in the area. These operations are described in this report. Drilling results are discussed.

Eleven scout drill holes entailing 1290 feet of drilling were sunk to find suitable open-cut prospecting areas for the Young Wallsend Seam of the "Upper" Coal Measures within an area of one square mile in Portion 10, Parish of Hexham, Newcastle Region, N.S.W. Several drill holes intersected the Dudley (?) and Yard Seams overlying the Young Wallsend Seam. The scout drilling defined the following inferred reserves of coal: [see record for table data]. These figures do not take into account weathering and possible worked-out areas which may reduce the reserves by as much as 30%. The seams are banded and the quality of the coal could probably be improved considerably by washing. The scout drilling did not define accurately the overburden ratios; however, it is likely that overburden to coal ratio for the Dudley (?) Seam will average very roughly 5:1 and for Young Wallsend about 9:1 if the Dudley is mined beforehand where it overlies the Young Wallsend. These results did not justify commencing a "testing and defining" drilling programme. The Yard Seam was not investigated in detail; its thinness precludes it from having any importance for open-cut mining.

Three widely separated scout holes totalling 566 feet of drilling were drilled to investigate the possibilities of open-cut mining sites on the Australasian Seam immediately to the west and south-west of West Wallsend, a suburb of the city of Newcastle. Only one hole intersected the Australasian Seam. This hole indicated that the seam was much banded and of inferior quality - below present open-cut coal standard. Analyses suggested that it may be possible to mine a section of coal 8 feet 7 inches thick excluding non-coal bands, and that this coal would have an ash content of about 29% and calorific value of 10,000 B.Th.U. per lb. after the exclusion of bands.

The area investigated is to the south west of the West Wallsend Extended Colliery near the township of Killingworth within Portion 34, Parish of Teralba, County Northumberland. Drilling was carried out for the Joint Coal Board as part of the programme of the proposed Barnsley Australasian Open Cut, to locate the Great Northern and Fassifern Seams which outcrop at the base of the hills. Five bores were sunk. Bores BMR 1 to 4 penetrated the Fassifern Seam.

Six scout drilling holes totalling 1020 feet of drilling were sunk by the Bureau in the Stony Pinch and Thornton Area, about 6 miles south-south-east of the City of Maitland in the Hunter Valley of N.S.W. The bores penetrated the Four Mile Creek beds and the Buttai Sandstone of the Tomago "Stage" of the "Upper" Coal Measures. In the absence of reliable stratigraphical control, the seams cannot be correlated with much certainty. Bore BMR 4 Stony Punch indicated that Donaldson's Seam(?) is thin and much banded; the coal, excluding bands, has an ash content of about 15% and calorific value of 12,300 B.Th.U/lb. This same bore showed that the basal 7 feet 3 inches of the Big Ben Seam had an ash content of about 25% and calorific value of 10,600 B.Th.U/lb. if 8 inches of non-coal bands are excluded. The general results of the drilling were that the coal seams were heavily banded, variable and high in inherent ash. Accordingly the prospecting was halted after drilling six holes.

A total of thirteen rotary cored bores were sunk by the Bureau approximately one mile south of the village of Teralba in the Parishes of Teralba and Awaba, Northumberland County. The Great Northern Seam in places is sufficiently thick for open cut mining but the coal is generally of very poor quality and the overburden to coal ratio much too high to warrant further drilling. Continued prospecting of the Fassifern Seam in this area is not warranted, because of the very poor quality of the coal in this seam. This report contains an account of the operations, and describes the results of the geological investigations. The results of drilling are detailed in the accompanying plates and bore logs.

This coverage contains a representation of the well locations in the Gillette Coalfield. This theme was created specifically for the National Coal Resources Assessment in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains Region.

This coverage contains a representation of the well locations in the Gillette Coalfield. This theme was created specifically for the National Coal Resources Assessment in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains Region.