§ Mr. Gordon Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Energy what is the current estimate of economically workable coal reserves in Scotland: and what proportion of these reserves is likely to be developed.
§ Mr. EadieThe current estimate of " classified " coal reserves in Scotland—i.e., reserves which are accessible from existing collieries and which are economically workable under current marketing conditions and with present mining technology—is 224 million tons. In addition, there are reserves suitable for opencast mining of about 19 million tons. The 50 million tons of potentially workable reserves in the recently proved Musselburgh prospect is additional to the above figures.
It is not possible to say what proportion of these reserves is likely to be developed. This must depend largely on the future market for Scottish coal, particularly the demand for coal for power stations which is currently the subject of discussion between the NCB, the SSEB and the Government. The NCB estimates the total physically workable reserves in Scotland—those at depths of up to 4,000 ft. and in seams over 2 ft. thick—at about 12,000 million tons. This takes no account of the costs of extraction, of available markets or of access.