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State Coal Profile: Arizona
Coal ranks a distant second in value to copper among the mineral commodities produced in Arizona. However, Arizona is notable as a source of coal because all production is from leases on Indian lands, and because the State has the only long-distance coal-slurry pipeline in the country. Indian royalties from coal sales in 1992 were $33 million. All of Arizona's coal production, which totaled about 13 million short tons in 1992, is from the Black Mesa field in the northeastern part of the State, in Navajo County. This is a plateau area covering more than 3,000 square miles of Indian land. Black Mesa coal is generally classified as bituminous coal. Black Mesa coal is historically noteworthy because archeological evidence shows that prehistoric Indians used it for firing pottery at least as far back as 1300 A.D. Although the first official record of coal pro-duction in Arizona was in 1926, small amounts of coal were mined by settlers for local use in earlier years. Between 1926 and 1970, coal production was intermittent and usually amounted to less than 10,000 short tons per year, reflecting the remoteness of the coal deposits, a small population, and a lack of coal-based industries. Most of the coal was produced for heating schools on the Navajo Indian Reservation. After 1970 the output of coal in Arizona increased markedly. This was due to the opening of two large surface mines in Black Mesa field—Black Mesa and Kayenta—to produce coal for two large power plants built to help meet the growing demand for electricity in southern California and the Southwest. Peabody Coal Company developed and continues to operate both mines, located about 16 miles apart, on about 65,000 acres of land leased from the Navajo and Hopi Indian tribes. Production is from four to five coalbeds that range from 3 to 10 feet in thickness. Both mines rank among the largest U.S. coal mines. Black Mesa supplies coal to the 1,580-megawatt Mohave power plant of Southern California Edison Company, in southeastern Nevada. The transportation link between the mine and power plant is unique: coal is delivered as a slurry through a 273-mile long, 18-inch pipeline. The coal slurry (a mixture of half finely ground coal and half water, by weight) is pumped at a rate of about 3.5 miles per hour. Kayenta produces coal for the 2,250-megawatt Navajo power plant, located near Page, in Coconino County, and operated by the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District. Coal from the mine is hauled to the power plant on an 83-mile-long private railroad. A 17-mile long conveyor connects the mine with the railroad. Less than half of the 18 million short tons of coal consumed in Arizona in 1992 was produced in the State. Electric utilities were the principal consumers. Except for the Navajo power plant, the utilities consumed coal received primarily from New Mexico. Other coal consumers in Arizona were chiefly cement plants and a paperboard mill.

Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles

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Arizona
Coal Production, 1890-1992
Coal-bearing area Coal-producing county Coal-fired power plant
14 12 10 Million Short Tons

0

50 Miles

100
8 6 4 2 0 18 90 19 00 19 10 19 20 19 30 19 40 19 50 19 60 19 70 19 80 19 90

Total Area of State: 113,909 square miles Area Underlain by Coal: 3,040 square miles

First Year of Documented Coal Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1926 (624 short tons) Peak Year of Coal Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991 (13,203,000 short tons)

Coal Reserves (Million Short Tons)
Type of Reserve Demonstrated Reserve Base: (January 1, 1992) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Estimated Recoverable Reserves: (January 1, 1992) Sulfur Content (pounds per million Btu) < 0.61 (low sulfur) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.61-1.67 (medium sulfur) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > 1.67 (high sulfur) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Estimated Recoverable Reserves at Active Mines, Year-End 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Underground Surface Total

102

135

236

51 0 0 51 0

106 0 0 106 W

158 0 0 158 W

Production
Salient Data by Mine Type Underground Quantity (thousand short tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Productivity (short tons per miner per hour) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average Mine Price (dollars per short ton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surface Quantity (thousand short tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Productivity (short tons per miner per hour) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average Mine Price (dollars per short ton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992

0 0 0 ---

0 0 0 ---

0 0 0 ---

0 0 0 ---

0 0 0 ---

10,905 2 897 5.29 W

9,625 2 885 6.53 W

11,304 2 951 5.93 W

13,203 2 900 6.64 W

12,512 2 888 6.29 W

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Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles

Arizona
Quantity (thousand short tons) Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Productivity (short tons per miner per hour) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Average Mine Price (dollars per short ton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,905 2 897 5.29 W 9,625 2 885 6.53 W 11,304 2 951 5.93 W 13,203 2 900 6.64 W 12,512 2 888 6.29 W

Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles

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Arizona
Number of Mines by Production Range and Percent of Production, 1992
Production Range (thousand short tons) Mine Type 1,000 and over Number Underground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 2 2 Percent 0 100 100 500 to 999 Number 0 0 0 Percent 0 0 0 100 to 499 Number 0 0 0 Percent 0 0 0 Number 0 0 0 < 100 Percent 0 0 0

Coal Demand
Disposition Consumption (thousand short tons) Electric Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coke Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Residential and Commercial . . . . . . . . . . Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Year-End Utility Stocks (thousand short tons) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electricity Generation Total (million kilowatthours) . . . . . . . . . . Coal (percent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nuclear (percent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other (percent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992

10,915 0 W W 11,558

14,448 0 W W 16,364

15,758 0 660 0 16,419

16,116 0 689 0 16,805

17,227 0 632 4 17,862

5,541

3,163

3,090

4,177

3,543

36,876 59 0 41

48,227 60 2 38

62,289 51 33 16

66,767 48 38 14

70,109 49 37 14

Utility Coal Data, 1992
Average Quality and Average Delivered Cost Heat Content (million Btu per short ton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sulfur Content (percent by weight) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ash Content (percent by weight) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pounds of Sulfur per million Btu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars per million Btu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dollars per short ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Produced in State 22.00 .52 9.50 .47 1.10 24.28 Receipts, All Sources 20.61 .51 12.19 .50 1.37 28.31

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Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles

Arizona

Estimated Total State Energy Consumption, 1991: 924 trillion Btu (coal, 348; natural gas, 128; petroleum, 353; nuclear electric power, 270; hydroelectric power, 75; other, 0; net interstate flow of electricity and associated losses, -250).

W = Withheld to avoid disclosure of individual company data. Notes: Totals may not equal sum of components because of independent rounding. Data coverage—Production: all mines. Number of mines: 1980, mines that produced 10,000 short tons or more; other years, all mines. Number of miners and productivity: mines that produced 10,000 or more short tons and preparation plants that had 5,000 or more employee hours. Average mine price: mines that produced 10,000 or more short tons. Average quality and average delivered cost of utility coal: power plants with a generator nameplate capacity of 50 megawatts or more. Extent of coal-bearing areas and locations of coal-consuming plants shown on map are approximate; small coal deposits are not shown. Coal-producing counties shown on map exclude any county where all 1992 output was from mines producing less than 10,000 short tons. Sources: Energy Information Administration—U.S. Coal Reserves: An Update by Heat and Sulfur Content, February 1993; Coal Production 1992 and prior issues; Coal Data: A Reference; Quarterly Coal Report October-December 1992 and prior issues; Electric Power Annual 1991 and prior issues; Electric Power Monthly, March 1993; Cost and Quality of Fuels for Electric Power Plants 1992; Inventory of Power Plants in the United States 1992; State Energy Data Report 1991: Consumption Estimates; Map of coal-bearing areas is based mainly on U.S. Geological Survey map, Coalfields of the United States, 1960. Data for historical graph 1890-1975, U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines (Minerals Yearbook and annual predecessor Mineral Resources of the United States); 1976 forward, Energy Information Administration, Coal Production 1992 and prior issues.

Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles

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Destination of Coal Produced in Arizona, 1992 (Million Short Tons)

NV 5.0

AZ 7.4

Domestic 12.4 Exports 0 Total 12.4

Transportation modes, domestic markets (percent): rail, 60; tramway/conveyor/slurry pipeline, 40. Note: Total may not equal sum of components because of independent rounding. Source: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-6, “Coal Distribution Report.”

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Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles

Origin of Coal Received in Arizona, 1992 (Million Short Tons)

PA UT 0.1 CO 0.2 NM 9.2

*

AZ 7.4

Total

16.9

Note: Total may not equal sum of components because of independent rounding. Source: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-6, “Coal Distribution Report.”
Energy Information Administration/ State Coal Profiles 17