(Thousand short tons and thousand dollars) 
 
Number 
County 
1966 
 
 
 
 
1967 
 
 
of mines 
- 
Total production 
 
Number 
of mines Total production 
 
 
Underground 
Strip Auger 
Quantity 
Value 2 
Uner- 
ground 
Strip Auger Quantity 
 
Value 2 
 
Buchanan       
Dickenson      
Lee            
Montgomery 3 - - 
659 
92 
49 
1 
18 
16 
3 
34 
8 
1 
  
16,288 
9,339 
433 
2 
$67,344 
40,010 
2,016 
10 
520 
75 
43 
1 
23 
13 
5 
28 
10 
5 
  
15,529 
9,579 
835 
W 
$70,541 
46,482 
3,485 
W 
Russell         
Scott          
35 
1 
3 
  
2 
1,917 
11 
10,874 
48 
26 
1 
4 
  
2 
2,278 
W 
12,695 
W 
Tazewell        
Wise           
10 
155 
2 
24 
3 
17 
244 
7,331 
874 
32,665 
5 
113 
2 
23 
1 
18 
311 
8,171 
1,044 
36,835 
Undistributed 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
19 
100 
V 
THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF VIRGINIA 
815 
 
and Dickenson Counties in auger mine production. The average value per ton
for underground-mined coal was $4.92; for strip-mined coal, $3.46; for auger-mined
coal, $3.20; and for the combined output by all three mining methods, $4.66.
Principal seams mined included Blair, Boiling, Clintwood, Darby, Eagle, Hagy,
Harlan, High Splint, Imboden, Jawbone, Jewel! Kelly, Lyons, Norton, Parsons,
Pocahontas, No. 3, Red Ash, Splash Dam, Taggart, 
Tiller, Upper and Lower Banner, Upper and Lower Standiford, and Widow Kennedy.

 Of the total underground output, 80 percent was mechanically loaded, 13
percent higher than in 1966, and 40 percent higher than in 1962. These increases
reflected the trend toward modernization and mechanization in the State's
underground mines. 
 
Table 5.—CoaI (bituminous) production' by counties 
 Total 1,002 66 65 35,565 153,341 784 70 64 ~36,721 ~171,183 
 
 
 W Withheld to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data; included
with "Undistributed." 
 1 Excludes mines producing less than 1,000 short tons. 
 2 Value received or charged for coal, f.o.b. mine, including selling cost.
Includes value for coal not sold but used by producer, such as mine fuel
and coal coked as estimated by producer at average prices that might have
been received if such coal had been sold commercially. 
 3 Semianthracite coal; quantity and value included in bituminous coal total.

 ' Data may not add to totals shown because of rounding. 
 
 A total of 316 mobile loading machines (51 more than in 1966) accounted
for 60 percent of the mechanically loaded tonnage; 94 continuous mining machines
(14 more than in 1966) accounted for 37 percent; long-wall machines and hand-loaded
face conveyors accounted for the remainder. Of the total coal mines, 50 percent
of the product was mechanically cleaned in 37 plants (1 plant more than in
1966). Wet washing other than with jigs was the principal method of cleaning,
accounting for 81 percent of the cleaned coal. Of the cleaned coal 49 percent
was thermally dried. Of the total coal mined 40 percent was crushed. Sixteen
percent of the total coal output was treated with dust-allaying and antifreezing
preparations, of which oil predominated (86 percent). 
 Coke.—Coal was converted to coke in beehive, Mitchell, and sole flue
ovens; no byproduct recovery was made. The coke 
was produced in six plants (five companies); one in Buchanan County and five
in Wise County. Three plants in Wise County, however, closed down in 1967—
two plants early in spring and one near yearend. Production of coke was about
34 percent less than in 1966, primarily because of the plant shutdowns during
1967. The average value per ton was $15.63, an increase of 0.4 percent over
the $15.56 reported in 1966. 
 
 Petroleum and Natural Gas.—Natural gas production data in table 1
are reported to the Bureau of Mines by pipeline companies and are comparable
with other State chapter data, although not necessarily with data reported
by State agencies. The production of natural gas for commercial use was 3,818
million cubic feet, 10 percent less than that of 1966; the total value was
$1,149,000 and the average wellhead value was $0.30 per thousand cubic