The Durham Coalfield is a coalfield in north-east England. It is continuous with the Northumberland Coalfield to its north. It extends from Bishop Auckland in the south to the boundary with the county of Northumberland along the River Tyne in the north, beyond which is the Northumberland Coalfield.
The two contiguous coalfield areas were often referred to as the Durham and Northumberland Coalfield(s) or as the Great Northern Coalfield.
Geology
See also Geology of County Durham
The following coal seams are recorded from the Durham coalfield. They are listed here in stratigraphic order with the youngest at the top and the oldest/deepest at the bottom:
Upper Coal Measures
Hylton Castle
Middle Coal Measures
Dean
Hebburn Fell
Usworth
Ryhope Five-Quarter
Ryhope Little
High Main
Metal
Five-Quarter
Main
Maudlin
Durham Low Main
Brass Thill
Hutton
Lower Coal Measures
Harvey
Tilley
Busty
Three-Quarter
Brockwell
Victoria
Marshall Green
Ganister Clay
Future developments
With the development of modern technology to produce energy and capture carbon dioxide by carbon capture and storage (CCS) there is renewed interest in the exploitation of the Durham Coalfield reserves by underground coal gasification. This is of strategic importance to local energy intensive industry such as the commodity chemical and steel members of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC).