Rank enhancement of Permian Barakar and Raniganj coal measures in the western part of the Sohagpur coalfield, Madhya Pradesh, India
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are engaged in a study of the coking coal deposits in the Sohagpur coalfield, near Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. The major occurrences of coking coal in the Sohagpur coalfield are on the northern, down-thrown side of the regional Bamhani-Chilpa fault, where depths to the coking coal range generally from 100 to 500 m. These coal deposits are within the Permian Barakar Formation, which comprises the lower coal measures of the Gondwana Supergroup. Equivalent coal beds on the south side of the fault are generally non-coking, and are currently being mined in open-cast and underground mines, for use as fuel for electric power generation. In this paper, new data are presented which expands on data and ideas originally presented in Mukhopadyay and others. The purpose of this paper is to integrate thermal signatures (vitrinite reflectance and volatile matter) of the principal coal beds of the Sohagpur coalfield with stratigraphic and structural data. In order to characterize the coking coal deposits, the authors have collected more than 100 coal samples from both the Barakar and Raniganj Formations for analyses. The occurrence of coking coal in the Sohagpur coalfield is related primarily to the thermal alteration of the coal beds in the different geologic settings within the coalfield. In addition, differences in the maceral content of the various coal beds and in the chemical and physical composition within each bed depending upon location, play an important role in determining the existence of coking properties for a particular coal deposit. Potential heat sources for thermal alteration include the abundant dolerite intrusives in the region, and greater depth of burial of the coking coal beds on the down-thrown side of the Bamhani-Chilpa fault. Offset along the Bamhani-Chilpa system has been suggested to greater than 400 m. Hot water, similar to that found in other Permian coalfields in India, may have been the agent that metamorphosed the coal in some places but not in others.
- Research Organization:
- US Geological Survey, Reston, VA (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20082275
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Sixteenth Annual International Pittsburgh Coal Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (US), 10/11/1999--10/15/1999; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating systems required: Windows 95/98; Windows 3.X, Macintosh; PBD: 1999; Related Information: In: Sixteenth annual international Pittsburgh Coal Conference: Proceedings, [2000] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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