ADMINISTRATIVE NOTICE 94­08



SUBJECT:	Property Tax -- State Tax Commissioner's Policy Statement for the Determination of the In Place Tonnage Per Acre-Foot of Producing Coal and Other Mined Minerals.

	On July 26, 1991, the Department of Tax and Revenue filed Legislative Regulations for the appraisal of producing and reserve coal properties and producing other mined mineral properties (see § 110-1I-1 et seq. and §
110­1K­1 et seq.).  This notice will address these regulations use of the in place tonnage per acre-foot for producing coal properties, referenced in §
110-1I­3.30 and for other mined mineral properties, referenced in §
110­1K­3.27.

	DISCUSSION

	The specific gravity of bituminous coal ranges between 1.15 and 1.5 depending on rank, moisture content, and ash content, and averages 1.32.  The regulatory equation for the determination of tons per acre-foot is as follows:

	62.4 lbs/ft3	  ft3 in	    natural resource
	   of water  X  an acre  X   specific gravity
										   = tons per 
				2000 lbs/ton				     acre/ft

	Substituting the specific gravity of coal into the formula we find that there are approximately 1800 tons of coal in place per acre-foot as follows:

62.4  X  43,560  X  1.32  =  1,793.97 or 1800 tons per acre foot
	    2000

	It should be noted here that the 1800 tons per acre foot establishes a benchmark for determination of a recovery rate.  If the specific gravity of coal being mined is less than or greater than 1.32 then the recovery rate per acre mined will be less than or greater than thus eliminating the potential of inaccurate calculations of acres mined.  

	Similar calculations for other mined minerals yield the following results:

			Limestone	  =	3600 Ft. Acre
			Sandstone	  =	3600 Ft. Acre
			Clay/Shale  =	3050 Ft. Acre
			Sand/Gravel =	2400 Ft. Acre
			Salt		  =	2950 Ft. Acre

	For more information concerning the development of the in place tonnage of natural resource properties see § 110-1I-1 et seq. and § 110­1K­1 et seq. or contact the Department of Tax and Revenue at (304)
558-3940.

						James H. Paige III
						Secretary
						Department of Tax and Revenue

						Issued:  January 10, 1994


Department of Tax and Revenue
Property Tax Division
P. O. Box 2389
Charleston, WV  25328-2389
Operator on Duty 8:30 am - 4:00 pm
Monday through Friday
Phone:  (304) 558-3940
FAX:    (304) 558-2324