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Jharkhand is situated partially on top of the Chotanagpur plateau and partially on top of the Deccan plateau. Four states border it from four corners, Chhattisgarh from the west border, Orissa from the southern border, Uttar Pradesh from the northwest border, and Bihar from the northern border. As a separate state, Jharkhand established itself after getting separated from the southern half of Bihar in 2000. The literal meaning of Jharkhand is the land of forest. The mining and industrial sectors benefit the state most, with vast coal fields, iron ores, etc. This article has covered what a coal field is and some crucial coalfields in Jharkhand.
What Is A Coal Field?
Coal is a mineral brownish sedimentary rock that constitutes mainly carbon. It is formed predominantly in the coal reserves of the country. Coal is the most widely used affordable mineral resource that has many applications. Coal is used to generate power in thermal plants, coking coal extracted from the cold field is used in steel production.
A coal field is an area with ample availability of coal, and all the coal has similar chemical concentrations and uniform characteristics. The formation of coal happens deep inside the earth’s lithosphere.
The formation of coal takes a very long time because it takes millions and millions of years after withstanding geological and landmass pressure continuously on the dead animals and plants that got converted into sedimentary rocks. The coal is extracted from the coal mines.
Coal Field In Jharkhand
Jharkhand comes in the list of the world’s largest mineral-rich zones. Jharkhand has a significant contribution to the accounts for India because it constitutes 40% of the aggregate minerals resources in the country and 29% of the aggregate coal field reserves in the country.
Jharkhand has contributed to constituting 26% iron ore and 19% copper ore reserves in the aggregate from the whole country. Some other significant minerals found in Jharkhand are Uranium, Mica, Bauxite, Granite, Limestone, Silver, Graphite, Magnetite, and Dolomite.
Mining and Mineral extractions are the primary industries present in this state. Jharkhand is the one and the only state that produces Coking Coal, Uranium, and Pyrite in India.
The coal extraction began officially in 1774 by the East India Company in the Raniganj Coal Field. John Summer and Grant Heatly were the two Englishmen who started coal extraction from this coal field. By 1900, 6.2 million metric tons of coal are extracted from this state every year. After 1920, the number rose to 19 million metric tons of coal production annually.
World War and the discovery of the Steam Engine were the two primary reasons for the boom of production of coal in Jharkhand. Indians challenged the British monopoly in 1894 when Seth Khora Ramji began coal extraction and production in the Jharia coal field. After this, many other coal fields were explored by other communities, such as Dhanbad, Bokaro, and Jharia.
The Government Of India introduced five-year plans that gave a necessary boost in the production and formation of coal. The 33 million metric tons target was achieved in the first five-year plan. The National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC), established by the Indian government, also aided the proper functioning and management of coal production in the coal field of Jharkhand.
Gondalpara coal mine in Hazaribagh, Jharia, is the largest coal field in the state of Jharkhand. Other coal fields in Jharkhand are Giridih, Ramgarh, Karanpura, and Daltonganj.
Coal Types
- Anthracite Coal: – Anthracite coal is the highest grade of mineral coal that can be extracted from the coal field. This is the best quality of coal because it has more than 90-95% of carbon content.
- Bituminous Coal: – Bituminous Coal is the second-highest grade of mineral coal. These coal types have been the most significant available coal present in India. These average-grade coal types are widely used to produce electricity in the majority of the Indian households in Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
- Lignite Coal: – Lignite Coal is the lowest grade of mineral coal because it has a minor concentration of carbon content. It is extracted from the cold field of Jammu Kashmir, Rajasthan, and some mines of Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion
As a separate state, Jharkhand established itself after getting separated from the southern half of Bihar in 2000. The literal meaning of Jharkhand is the land of forest. The mining and industrial sectors are the most benefited in the state, with an ample number of the coal field, iron ores, etc. Coal is exported and imported from the state of Jharkhand, which has a significant impact on the development of the economy.
