Publications

Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Coal Country Notes

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel resource in India, which is the world's third largest coal producer. The principal deposits of hard coal are in the eastern half of the country, ranging from Andhra Pradesh, bordering the Indian Ocean, to Arunachal Pradesh in the extreme north-east: the eastern States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal together account for about 77% of reserves. The Ministry of Coal (quoting the Geological Survey of India) states that, in addition to 95.9 billion tonnes of 'proved resources' of bituminous coal, there are 119.8 billion tonnes of 'indicated resources' and 37.7 billion tonnes of 'inferred resources'. Coking coals constitute 17% of the tonnage of proved resources. The resources quoted are the result of exploration down to a depth of 1 200 m.

The Indian WEC Member Committee reports proved recoverable reserves as 52 240 million tonnes of bituminous coal at end-2005 and 4 258 million tonnes of lignite at end-2004.

Lignite deposits mostly occur in the southern State of Tamil Nadu. India's geological resources of lignite are estimated to be some 36 billion tonnes, of which about 2.4 billion tonnes in the Neyveli area of Tamil Nadu are regarded as 'mineable under the presently adopted mining parameters'. Annual production of lignite is currently in the region of 31 million tonnes, almost all of which is used for electricity generation.

Although India's coal reserves cover all ranks from lignite to bituminous, they tend to have a high ash content and a low calorific value. The low quality of much of its coal prevents India from being anything but a small exporter of coal (traditionally to the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan) and conversely, is responsible for sizeable imports (around 20 million tonnes/yr of coking coal and 17 million tonnes/yr of steam coal) from Australia, China, Indonesia and South Africa.

Coal is the most important source of energy for electricity generation in India: about three-quarters of electricity is generated by coal-fired power stations. In addition, the steel, cement, fertiliser, chemical, paper and many other medium and small-scale industries are also major coal users.