530 W. H. Wilcockson — Coal in Spitsbergen. 



with thin limestones, sandstones, and phosphate beds, often rich in 

 well-preserved marine fossils. After these follow Jurassic and 

 Tertiary strata, which are very thick and in apparent conformity : 

 these build up the high plateau of Ice Fjord. They are chiefly 

 composed of sandstones and shales of marine origin, with occasional 

 bands containing marine fossils. They also yield abundant plant 

 remains and both contain coal, in consequence of which they are 

 the most important strata in the islands from the economic point 

 of view. 



The age of the coals is somewhat undecided: in 1897 ilTathorst 

 determined the age of some of the seams' to be Upper Jurassic, and 

 he considers that those on the west side of Advent Bay are Tertiary, 

 while the American writers Stevenson and Morris believe that they 

 are all Jurassic. Bituminous coal, cannel coal, and anthracite are 

 all found in the islands. Generally speaking, the carbon percentage 

 is very variable, especially between the top and bottom of the 

 individual seams, and the ash content is high. The coals, however, 

 are good for steam-raising, and especially so for use in closed stoves, 

 which makes them particularly well suited for export to Scandinavia 

 and Russia. Four analyses from the Green Harbour- Advent Bay 

 district gave the following results : — 



The heating capacity of these samples was 12,000 British thermal 

 units. 



The coal is mined both in the folded zone and in the plateau 

 region. In the latter the beds have a gentle dip, and the seams can 

 be seen cropping out on the hillsides generally between 450 and 

 600 feet above the sea, though they are known to exist up to 

 1,300 feet, but at this height they are unworkable, partly owing 

 to the cold and partly to the steepness of the slopes. For the mining 

 of these fiat or gently dipping seams shafts are unnecessary, since 

 all the seams can be worked by adits driven in from their outcrops. 

 Iso fire-damp has been met with and the mines can be worked all 

 the year round in spite of the temperature, which is always as low 

 as —4° C. in the drives, so that the coal faces are covered with ice or 

 hoarfrost. The steepness of the slopes renders transport somewhat 

 difficult, and at one mine on Advent Bay the coal is brought down to 

 the wharf by an aerial ropeway. On the other side of Advent Bay 

 a tramway is in operation and a railway is projected from the 

 Swedish concessions in Buntzow's Land at the head of Ice Fjord to 

 an ice-free harbour on Bell Sound. 



The coal-seams average about 3 feet in thickness, though some 

 have been reported up to 12 feet thick: they are often pure coal 

 throughout, though at some places, such as Green Harbour and 

 Advent Bay, they are known to split. At the former locality there 

 are two coal-seams, the upper one of which splits as follows : — 



