Coal Resource Map of Britain with Regional Inset Details

A spatial map depicting the extent of coal and lignite resources across Britain, produced by the British Geological Survey. It shows surface and subsurface coal deposits, intended for resource development, energy policy, and land-use planning. The dataset includes a general map and six detailed regional inset maps.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial extent of coal and lignite deposits for national energy resource assessment and policy planning.
• Identify areas where coal is buried beneath younger rocks for geological hazard indication in mined regions.
• Use the six regional inset maps (e.g., Scotland, South Wales) for localized strategic land-use and environmental planning.
• Correlate surface coal presence with land-use data for environmental impact assessments.

Strengths

• Produced by the authoritative British Geological Survey in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Coal Authority.
• Includes six detailed regional inset maps providing localized data for key coal-bearing areas.
• Covers the entire spatial extent of Britain's principal coal resources, both surface and subsurface.

Limitations

• Data is presented as a map (paper or PDF), not a structured tabular or GIS-ready dataset, limiting computational analysis.
• Specific quantitative attributes like resource volumes, seam depths, or quality grades are not detailed in the provided description.
• The update schedule is unclear; the listed 'last updated' date is a future date (2026-03 11), suggesting potential metadata inaccuracy.

Provenance

Source

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Collection Method

Joint work with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Coal Authority.

Time Range

null

Freshness

null

Geography

Britain, with specific regional coverage for Scotland, North-East, North-West, East Pennines, Lancashire/North Wales/West Midlands, and South Wales/Forest of Dean/Bristol.