The project proposed is based on a multidisciplinary cooperation of scientists specializing in coal geology, chemistry, petrography and technology. Its objective consists in a systematic investigation of the composition and structure of coal from all upper Paleozoic coal and tertiary basins in the Czech Republic and setting up a database. The file will contain data of elemental and technical analyses, petrographic characteristics, and surface properties of coals as well as spectroscopic analyses of coals, extracts, and humic acids by the FTIR, EPR, and 13C CP/MAS NMR techniques. Results of this projects can be exploite from the geological viewpoint as wel as for coal processing.