Figure 2.4 

 Geographic Distribution of Coal, Oil Shale, and Tar Sands With Respect to Federally-Owned Lands 



Federal Lands 



I I Forest Service Lands 



PPi Bureau of Land Management Lands 



^^H Other Federal Lands 



Coal, Oil Shale, and Tar Sands 



^ 



west of the 100th meridian. But 44 percent of the 

 western coal can be mined by stripping methods, 

 while only about 19 percent of the eastern coal is 

 strippable. Strippable western coalbeds are typically 

 thick and low in sulfur, making them attractive for 

 mining and for burning where sulfur oxide emissions 

 must be kept low. Eastern coal beds are generally thin 

 and high in sulfur, making them more difficult to 

 mine and use than western coals. Generally, eastern 

 coals are privately owned, whereas the Federal 

 Government owns 60 percent of western coal re- 

 sources. These facts suggest that, with good transpor- 

 tation facilities and favorable freight rates. Federal 

 coal under western forest and range lands will supply 

 much of the projected demands. 



Iron production in 1985 is estimated at 129 million 

 short tons and in 2000 at 159 million short tons. 

 These figures represent production rates 40 percent 

 and 73 percent above 1974. Forested private and 



State lands in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin 

 will likely supply the bulk of expected future produc- 

 tion. Molybdenum production is also expected to rise 

 sharply in response to domestic and foreign demand. 

 Forest and range lands in Colorado, Arizona, and 

 New Mexico are expected to supply most of the pro- 

 jected production. 



Production of nonmetals such as phosphate rock, 

 sand and gravel, and stone is expected to roughly 

 double by 2000. Most of the increase in phosphate 

 rock production is expected to come from Federal 

 forest and range lands in Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, and 

 Montana. Most production of the other nonmetals is 

 expected to come from private forest and range lands 

 and be much more widely distributed geographically. 



It is generally acknowledged that Alaska has large 

 mineral deposits, although their magnitude can only 

 be speculated upon. The development of the petro- 

 leum fields on the north slope of the Brooks Range is 



51 



