Wardha Valley Coalfield is located mainly in Chandrapur district in the Vidarbha region of the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Location | |
---|---|
Wardha Valley Coalfield Location in Maharashtra | |
State | Maharashtra |
Country | India |
Coordinates | 19°58′34″N 79°05′17″E / 19.97611°N 79.08806°E |
Owner | |
Company | Western Coalfields Limited |
Website | http://westerncoal.gov.in/ |
Wardha Valley Coalfied covers an area of about 4,130 km2 in the valley of the Wardha, a river in the Godavari basin. It extends in a North West – South East direction for about 115 km.[1] Wardha Valley Coalfield is spread across Bhandar, new majri, Rajur-wani, Chandrapur, Balalarpur and Wamanpalli.[2]
Wardha Valley Coalfield mines coal in a large measure by open cast mining. However, the availability of coal comparatively near to the surface is fast depleting. As a result, either the open cast mines have to be deepened or the costlier underground mining process resorted to.[3]
Coal-bearing areas in India are divided into two groups – Gondwana measures and tertiary measures. Gondwana coals occur in valleys of rivers such as Damodar, Mahanadi, Godavari and Wardha. Tertiary coals are found in Assam and the lignite occurring areas.[4]
According to the Geological Survey of India, Wardha Valley Coalfield has total reserves of 5,343.60 million tonnes of non-coking coal, up to a depth of 1,200 m, out of which 2,783.51 million tonnes are proved reserves and the rest being indicated or inferred. Bulk of the coal lies up to a depth of 300 m.[5]