The development of alternate sources of energy has been a major facet of the U. S. National Energy Policy for many years. Although there are major reserves of coal in the country, much of it is of low quality or is difficult to utilize using conventional mining techniques. One means of exploiting some of this coal is to convert it to a useful fuel by gasifying it in situ. The process has two major advantages; it converts a valueless resource into a useful fuel, and it is environmentally benign. The technology to develop these resources, however, has not yet been developed.