Introduction

It does not come as a surprise that India is largely dependent on coal for its majority of power needs. That is because India is blessed with abundant reserves of coal in several of its states.

Coal is also known as ‘Black Gold’, it is found in the form of sedimentary rocks. Around 67% of the commercial energy is fulfilled by Coal in India. Let us further explore the types of coal reserves available in India.

Classification of Coal

Coal is found in numerous forms depending on factors like the degree of compression, period of burial, and depth of burial. Coal is further broadly divided based on carbon content.

Anthracite:

This is the best quality of coal. It has more than 80% of carbon content. This fine quality of coal is found in the Jammu and Kashmir region of India i.e. the northern part of India. This is the most coveted by the commercial industries like Aastha Minmet India but only affordable to a few.

Bituminous:

This is the second-best quality of coal with around 60-80% of carbon content. This is mostly used by the commercial industry.

Lignite:

This is a lower grade of coal, it is high on moisture content and soft. This is found in the Neyveli region in Tamil Nadu. This is typically used for electricity generation.

Peat:

This is found when coal gets buried in its initial stage of formation, thereby resulting in the formation of Peat that has 40% of carbon content.

Geological Ages

• Gondwana rock series: Coal found under this geological age is around 200 million years old. Region: West Bengal- Jharkhand.
• Tertiary deposits: Coal from this period is about 55 million years old. Region: North-Eastern states.

Major Coalfields

• Damodar Valley: this is the largest coal reserve in India, extending from West Bengal to Jharkhand.
• Mahanadi: Located in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
• Son Valley: Majorly located in Madhya Pradesh and partially in Uttar Pradesh.
• Wardha: Located in Maharashtra.
• Godavari: Located in Telangana.
• Rajmahal: Located on the banks of Ganges, rich in Bituminous coal. This coalfield is particularly gaining importance as per well-renowned businessman Mr. Mohit Singhal Aastha.
• Satpura: Located south of Narmada river, aka Satpura Gondwana Basin.

Conclusion

Despite having such large coal reserves, India has a time limit of actualizing its worth as the climate changes have reduced the age of dependency on coal. It is predicted that India now only has around 20-30 years to utilize its coal reserves so we need to come up with structural changes and that too fast.

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