Coal resources for part of the Wilcox group (Paleocene-Eocene), northeast Texas

The Wilcox Group of northeast Texas contains shallow (less than 500 ft) coal deposits that are mined for use in mine-mouth electric power generating plants. The coal deposits, which are lignite in apparent rank (Pierce et al., 2011), are separated from similar shallow coal deposits in the Sabine uplift area by the East Texas Basin (Figure 1). The coal zones and associated strata in the northeast assessment area generally dip to the south and southeast at 28 or less toward the axis of the East Texas Basin. The northeast Texas resource assessment area includes parts of nine counties (Figure 2).