Aachen Coal Basin

a coal basin in the Federal Republic of Germany; located to the west of the Ruhr coal basin in the foothills of the Hohe Venn. The proved and probable coal reserves in the basin (down to a depth of 1,500 m) are 1.9 billion tons (with total reserves to a depth of 2,000 m of 10.5 billion tons). The average thickness of the seams is 0.3 m (approximately half that of the Ruhr basin); the nature of the bedding (serious dislocations of the coal seams) makes the seams difficult to work. Up to 40 percent of the output consists of bituminous coals and up to 25 percent is anthracite. The Aachen coal basin supplies 6.5 percent of West Germany’s coal production. (The basin’s production was 7.3 million tons in 1968.) The most important mines are in Alsdorf, Merkstein, Höngen, Würselen, and Heilenkirchen.