Mineral and power resource :Distribution and utilisation

GEO-A-DSE-B-6-08TH - GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA

Distribution of Coal in India – Gondwana Coal: Gondwana Coalfields. Tertiary Coal: Tertiary Coalfields, Lignite, Peat.

Distribution of Coal in India● Gondwana coal fields [250 million years old]● Tertiary coal fields [15 – 60 million years old]

● Gondwana coal makes up to 98 per cent of the total reserves and 99 per cent of the production of coal in India. Satpuras, denudation [weathering + erosion] has exposed coal bearing Gondwana strata.

● The carbon content in Gondwana coal [250 million years old] is less compared to the Carboniferous coal [350 million years old][Almost Absent in India] because of its much younger age.

● Gondwana coal forms India’s metallurgical grade as well as superior quality coal.● The Damuda series (i.e. Lower Gondwana) possesses the best worked coalfields accounting for 80 per

cent of the total coal production in India. 80 out of 113 Indian coalfields are located in the rock systems of the Damuda series [lower Gondwana Age].

● Coking as well as non-coking and bituminous as well as sub-bituminous coal are obtained from Gondwana coal fields.

● Anthracite is generally not found in the Gondwana coal fields.● The volatile compounds and ash (usually 13 – 30 per cent) and doesn’t allow Carbon percentage to rise

above 55 to 60 per cent. [It requires few million years more if the quality has to get better. Remember Gondwana coal is 100 million years younger than Carboniferous coal].

● Gondwana coal is free from moisture, but it contains Sulphur and Phosphorous.● These basins occur in the valleys of certain rivers viz., the Damodar (Jharkhand-West Bengal); the

Mahanadi (Chhattisgarh-Odisha); the Son (Madhya Pradesh Jharkhand); the Godavari and the Wardha (Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh); the Indravati, the Narmada, the Koel, the Panch, the Kanhan and many more.

Distribution of Gondwana Coal in India

● First coal mine was opened in 1774 at Raniganj in West Bengal.● Coal industry was nationalized in 1973-74. [The present government

made some serious changes during the last year [2015] by allowing private sector to play a bigger role in coal production].

● India is now the third largest coal producer in the world after China and the USA.

● Gondwana Coalfields == exclusively found in the Peninsular plateau of India.

Gondwana Coalfields in Chhattisgarh

Coalfield Extent

Korba coalfield Korba district.

Birampur coalfield Surguja district.

Hasdo-Arand coalfield

Chirmiri coalfield

Lakhanpur coalfield

Jhilmili coalfield Shandol district & Koriya district

Johilla coalfield Johilla valley

Sonhat coalfield Surguja district

Tatapani-Ramkota coalfields

Surguja district

● 1st in reserves [28%].● 2nd in production

[20%].● Most of the coal fields

are located in a narrow belt running in east-west direction.

● Major coalfields are present in Dumka (Santhal Parganas), Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Palamu.

● Jharia, Bokaro, Girdih and Karanpura are the major coal fields

Jharia coalfield Danbad district

One of the oldest and the richest coalfields of India; store house of the best metallurgical coal [coking coal]

Jayanti coalfields inferior quality and has high ash content

Bokaro coalfield

West Bokaro [900 m deep]

East Bokaro [600 m deep]

Hazaribagh district

It is a long but narrow strip in the catchment area of the Bokaro river.

Girdih (Karharbari) coalfield

Gives out of the finest coking coal in India for metallurgical purposes.

Karanpura and Ramgarh coalfields

Auranga coalfield Palamu district

inferior quality; used in cement furnaces and brick kilns

Hutar coalfield

Deltenganj coalfield

Devgarh coalfields Dumka district

inferior quality

Rajmahal coalfield Rajmahal hills

inferior quality

Gondwana Coalfields in OdishaTalcher field

Talcher town to Rairkhol in Dhenkanal and Sambalpur districts

Ranks second in reserves (24,374 million tonnes) after Raniganj;

Coal from this field is most suitable for steam and gas production.

Most of the coal is utilised in thermal power and fertilizer plants at Talcher.

Rampur-Himgir coalfields

Sambalpur and Sundargarh

Coal occurs here in middle and lower Barakar seams.

inferior quality

Ib river coalfield

Sambalpur and Jharsuguda district

Much of the coal is of inferior quality.

Gondwana Coalfields in Madhya PradeshSingrauli (Waidhian) coalfield

Sidhi and Shandol districts

largest coalfield of Madhya Pradesh

Jhingurda, Panipahari, Khadia, Purewa and Turra are important coal seams

Jhingurda with a total thickness of 131 m is the richest coal seam of the country.

thermal power plants at Singrauli and Obra

Pench-Kanhan-Tawa

Chhindwara district

Ghoravari seam in Kanhan field is 4.6 m thick and contains coking coal

Sohagpur coalfield

Shandol district

Umaria coalfield

Umaria district

inferior quality with high percentage of moisture and ash.

Gondwana Coalfields in Andhra Pradesh

Gondwana Coalfields in Maharashtra

Gondwana Coalfields in West Bengal● 4 % of India’s coal.● 11 % of the coal reserves.● Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri are the chief producing districts.● RANIGANJ is the largest coalfield of West Bengal.● Raniganj == Barddhaman, Bankura and Purulia districts; Small

part of this field is in Jharkhand state.● The coal here is non-coking steam coal.● Dalingkot coalfield == Darjeeling district.

Gondwana Coalfields in Uttar Pradesh

● Tertiary coal 15 to 60 million years old. Carbon content is very low.● Mainly confined to the extra-Peninsula [Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh etc.]● Coal generally has low carbon and high percentage of moisture and

Sulphur.[It takes few hundred million years for the carbon content to improve].

● Important areas of Tertiary coal include parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala,

● Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Pondicherry also bear tertiary coal reserves [exceptions].

Tertiary Coal

● Tertiary coal 15 to 60 million years old. Carbon content is very low.● Mainly confined to the extra-Peninsula [Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh etc.]● Coal generally has low carbon and high percentage of moisture and

Sulphur.[It takes few hundred million years for the carbon content to improve].

● Important areas of Tertiary coal include parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala,

● Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Pondicherry also bear tertiary coal reserves [exceptions

Tertiary Coalfields in Assam

● Makum, Nazira, Mikir Hills, Dilli-Jeypore and Lakhuni.● Makum coalfield in Sibsagar district is the most developed field.● Assam coals contain very low ash and high coking qualities but the sulphur

content is high, as a result of which this coal is not suitable for metallurgical purposes.

● But these coals are best suited for hydrogenation process and are used for making liquid fuels.

Tertiary Coalfields in Arunachal Pradesh

● Upper Assam Coal belt extends eastwards as Namchick-Namrup coalfield.● High in volatiles and in sulphur.

Tertiary Coalfields in Meghalaya

● Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills.● Darrangiri field == Garo hills.● Siju, Cherrapunji, Liotryngew, Maolong and Langrin coalfields == Khasi and Jaintia hills.

Tertiary Coalfields in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh

● Kalakot and surrounding regions in Jammu, south of Pirpanjal.● Himachal Pradesh == Chamba district.

Tertiary Coal – Lignite

● Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Puducherry.● Tamil Nadu excels all other states regarding reserves and production of lignite.

Lignite in Tamil Nadu

● 90 per cent of the reserves.● 57 per cent of the production.● Neyveli Lignite fields of Cuddalore district.● These are the largest deposits of lignite in south – east Asia.● Neyveli mines suffer from the artesian structure [mining goes deep and deep].● Mining in Lignite coalfields is risky due to SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION of lignite.

Lignite in Gujarat and Rajasthan

● Kachchh district and Dharuch district; poor quality.● Rajasthan == Palana in Bikaner district; The 250 MW thermal plant at Bikaner wholly depends

upon lignite as the basic fuel.

Tertiary Coal – Peat

● Confined to a few areas only.● Occurs in Nilgiri hills.● Kashmir valley, peat occurs in the alluvium of the Jhelum.● In West Bengal peat beds are noted in Kolkata and its suburbs.● In the Ganga delta, there are layers of peat which are composed of forest and rice plant