Determining coal seam total moisture, thickness and fracture planes is of vital importance for coal exploitation. Determining the thickness of shallow coal outcrops is difficult and drill data is often needed to determine lateral coal seam thickness resulting in high exploration costs. Another difficulty is the lack of information about fracture plane orientations which increases the difficulty and cost of digging operations. Ground probing radar (GPR) measurements were carried out on the vertical wall of a coal outcrop to determine the applicability of GPR in mapping the distribution and continuity of lateral coal seam thickness, total moisture variation, and fracture planes. By using multi-configuration antennas, reflected waves were recorded giving information to a depth of about 3 m on coal seam thickness, interfaces with inter-burden layers, total moisture variations and fracture planes in coal seams. By comparing the GPR records with the conditions of the visible vertical coal outcrop it was also confirmed that the electromagnetic waves were most strongly reflected by coal seam interfaces with inter-burden layers in the form of compact-clays, by total moisture content variations in coal seams and fracture planes containing conductive minerals (i.e. hematite, magnetite, clays, and pyrite) and water.