Tag: mineral resources - coal - introduction

Energy resources consume around 70% of coal in India. India is still dependent on thermal power which accounts for almost 60% of electricity production in India, with hydroelectricity(15%) a distant second. Iron and steel plants consume only 7% of coal in India. After electrification of railways lines, their consumption of coal is highly reduced.

Coal has many important uses worldwide. The most significant uses of coal are in electricity generation, steel production, cement manufacturing and as a liquid fuel. Different types of coal have different uses.

Depending on the amount of carbon, moisture and volatile matter, coal can be classified into the following varieties:

 Lignite is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content. The principal lignite reserves are in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu and are used for generation of electricity.

Despite of having the fifth largest coal reserves in the world, India is a major importer of coal because of its over dependence on thermal power generation and to feed its steel plants. In India, most of the coal mines are concentrated in eastern and south-central India, i.e. areas around Chota Nagpur plateau which includes states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal. 

Coal is called black gold because it is black in colour and it is costly too. It is used in wide range of industrial applications and creates a positive impact on the economic development of the country. Thus it's value is compared with that of Gold.

• Lignite is a low grade brown coal, which is soft with high moisture content.
• Bituminous coal is the most popular coal in commercial use. 
  
• Anthracite is the highest quality hard coal.
  
• Magnetite is the finest iron ore with a very high content of iron up to 70 per cent. 
  

• Coal and petroleum are formed from remains of dead vegetation and marine organisms.
  
• These are carbonaceous fuels. These are extracted from earth and are formed by fossil decomposition and are hence called fossil fuels. These fuels form major source of energy.
  

Jharia is famous for its rich coal resources, used to make coke. The coal field lies in the Damodar River Valley and covers about 110 square miles (280 square km) and produces bituminous coal suitable for coke. Most of India's coal comes from Jharia. Jharia coal mines are India's most important storehouse coke coal used in blast furnaces, it consists of 23 large underground and nine large open cast mines. 

Coal is itself a sedimentary rock formed when remains of plants such as peat undergo bacterial decay and followed by compaction due to sedimentation, as it undergoes this process it releases methane and becomes carbon rich and hard.