Question

Write a geographical account of the major coal fields of India.

Answer 1

1. Gondwana Coal: With 98 percent of India’s total reserves and 99 percent of its coal production, Gondwana coal accounts for an overwhelmingly huge share of both the country’s coal reserves and production. They serve as storage facilities for India’s premium quality coal and metallurgical coal. The Gondwana coal deposits are found in the valleys of several rivers, including the Indravati, the Narmada, the Koel, the Panch, the Kanhan, the Son (Madhya Pradesh-Bihar), the Damodar (Jharkhand-West Bengal), the Mahanadi (Chhattisgarh-Odisha), the Godavari and Wardha (Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh), and many more. It is estimated that the Gondwana coal is roughly 250 million years old. Coking, non-coking, and sub-bituminous coal are all included. In general, the Gondwana fields do not contain anthracite.
2. Tertiary Coal: Coals from the Tertiary rock strata are younger, ranging in age from 15 to 60 million years, and they are mostly found outside of the Peninsula. In general, this coal has a high percentage of moisture and sulfur and little carbon. Parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, the Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling in West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the union territory of Puducherry are significant tertiary coal-producing regions.