Saar Coal Basin

a hard coal basin in the Federal Republic of Germany, in Saarland. The basin extends 45 km from the northeast to the southwest with an average width of 20 km and continues into France, where it is called the Lorraine Coal Bar sin. The total proven and probable reserves to a depth of 2,000 m are 5.5 billion tons, including 3 billion tons of proven reserves to a depth of 1,200 m. The bed begins at a depth of approximately 500 m. The coal is coked together with Ruhr coal. The principal reserves and the centers for extraction are in the Saarbrücken-Völklingen-Neunkirchen region. Extraction decreased from 17.3 million tons in 1955 to 10.4 million tons in 1972. Production and office workers numbered approximately 25,000 in 1972, of whom 12,800 worked underground. Extraction is almost completely mechanized.