Summary:
The Norton and Lee Formations (Virginia nomenclature) encompass the Berwind Complex, which additionally is within the western margin of the folded and faulted Central Appalachian Basin, with deformation occurring during theAlleghany (post-Permian) Orogeny. The Dry ForkAnticline is a regionally persistent fold, which extends fromBuchanan County, Virginia to Mercer County, West Virginia. The anticline passes through the center of the complexand plunges to the southwest. North of the Dry ForkAnticline,coal beds dip at approximately one degree to the northwest, while to the south, seams dip one to two degrees toward the Boissevain Fault to the south/southwest.
The coalbeds of the Norton Formation are interbedded with sandstones, shales, siltstones,and underclays. The sandstones are light gray, very fine to coarse grained, thin bedded to massive, and crossbedded, and consist of 50 to 65 percent quartz, with large proportions of white-weathering feldspar, mica flakes and dark mineral grains. The shales are mediumto dark, thinly laminated, and carbonaceous. Horizontally laminated orcrossbedded mediumlight gray siltstones and mediumgray clayey to silty underclays occur in thin beds throughout the formation.
The coalseams of interest within the Berwind Complexare in the Southwest Virginia Coal Field and the Southern Coal Field in West Virginia. These coalseams are known for very high calorific value (Btu/lb)and high through low-volatile metallurgicalcoalcharacteristics, with high fluidity, lowash content,and lowsulfurcontent.
The Boissevain and Middle Creek faults are major northeast/southwest trending thrust faults, which pass through the southern boundary of the Berwind Complex and basically cut off resources to the south. The strata on the southeast side of the fault has been thrust upward, relative to the strata on the northern side, along a plane which is, in most places, inclined at approximately 45 degrees. Along much of the length of the fault, the strata have been overturned, and the fault offset is over 200 feet. The Boissevain and Middle Creek faults parallel the Richlands Fault,another large thrust fault to the south of the property, where Mississippian Age strata have been thrust above the Pennsylvanian coal-bearing formations.
The primary coal seams of interest on the Berwind Property, in descending stratigraphic order, are the Tiller, Pocahontas No. 6, Pocahontas No. 5, Pocahontas No. 4, Pocahontas No. 3 and Squire Jim. All of the coal seams of interest outcrop on the property. The Canebrake Fault passes through the Berwind Property, however, it is not anticipated to adversely affect mining activities.
The Berwind Complex resource area is a relatively flat lying, sedimentary deposit of Pennsylvanian Age. The 34 coal seams in the Lee Formation and the overlying Norton Formation (Virginia nomenclature) account for approximately 3,000 feet of geologic section.