This study examines the application of GIS to the analysis and display of coal quality data at the mine scale, and to the qualitative interpretation of mine scale spatial distributions related to regional trends of stream sediment geochemistry, mineral deposit occurrence information, and palaeoenvironments. Nature of the data and the data classification scheme used are discussed in the context of pattern interpretation. Geochemistry data for fourteen coal samples from the Gates Formation at the Bullmoose (South Fork) Mine are examined. Regional geochemistry data, and mineral deposit occurrence information are from the Regional Geochemical Surveys (RGS) and MINFILE databases of the BC MEMPR GSB, respectively. The SPANS GIS was used to generate geochemistry surface maps using the moving weighted average interpolation method. Contingency analyses were carried out to examine similarity between maps of the same scale. Distributions of elements over the Bullmoose South Fork mine site are variable; however, comparisons between element maps show similarities in distributions of Cu and ash, U and Th, Cr and Co, and fixed C and Cl. Major trends are highlighted by reducing local variability. The number and type of class intervals chosen as well as the density and distribution of data points will effect the degree of confidence in the trends displayed. Regional topography and geochemistry maps facilitate interpretation of mine scale element distributions in a regional context.