QUEENSLAND COAL FIELDS. ~>7 



The correlation of seains found in the different districts 

 has been no easy matter, owing to earth movements, and 

 changes in the strata and seams themselves. 



Recently a commencement has been made to mine coal at 

 Mundah, a few miles from Brisbane. The seam is about 4ft. 

 6in. thick, of which about 3ft. is good 'coal, mixed with two 

 bands. 



The following analyses were made at the Government 

 Analyst's office of samples from exhibits at the Queensland 

 International Exhibition of 1897 : 



Locality 



Volatile Fixed 



Moisture Hydro- Carbon Ash Sulphur 

 carbon. 



60.52 7.20 1.101 



South of Bremer River, 



More ton District . . 



North of Bremer River, 



Moreton District . . 1.25 25.78 63.59 9.38 1.26 

 The coals from north of the Bremer River contain a higher 

 proportion of fixed carbon and ash than those from south of 

 the river. They cake well, giving an excellent coke, but are 

 no! , as a rule, so suitable for steam purposes. The coals from 

 .south of the river have more volatile hydrocarbons, do not cake 

 well enough to give good coke, but are more suitable for 

 .steaming purposes. The Ipswich coals are friable, and do not 

 bear carriage well; they also suffer from exposure to wet, so 

 that the harder varieties, though containing more ash, are 

 found in practice to be more economical, in consequence of the 

 smaller proportion of waste: but R. Wilson, who made several 

 tests with this coal, states that its friability does not seem to 

 interfere much with its steaming qualities. The tests carried 

 out on the Government s.s. "Otter" gave the following in- 

 formation : 



the coals found between Walloon and Warwick is that of 

 cannel coal. It does not cake in coking, gives a high per- 

 centage of gas, or oil and paraffin, according to its treatment 



^Report on the Coal Deposits of the AVest Moreton and Dar- 

 ling Downs District, Brisbane : by Authority, 1876. 



