Question

Explain distribution of coal?

Answer 1

Most of the Russia’s coal in Siberian Region is untapped.Carboniferous coal of Great Lakes and Appalachians region helped USA become a leading industrialized nation.Coal reserves in Ruhr and Rhineland region coupled with rich iron deposits have made Germany a leading industrial super power of Europe.England too benefited immensely from its coal reserves of South Whales, Yorkshire, Manchester, Liverpool etc. Industrial revolution began here mainly due to rich coal reserves.Brazil is a leading coal producer in South America. Most of the coal goes into power generation. Excess production is exported to China.Australia is a leading producer of coal. Most of its coal is exported to China, Japan etc. Australia has rick coking coal deposits. India imports coking coal mainly from Australia.China’s coal is of poor quality. It imports metallurgical grade coal from Australia.South Africa is the only region in Africa with significant amount of coal reserves

Answer 2

In India coal deposits are found mainly of two geological ages –

1. Gondwana coal deposits, which are about 200 million years old. The major coal deposits in India are Gondwana coal which are metallurgical coal and are located in Damodar Valley (West Bengal, Jharkhand). These constitute mainly Jharia, Dhanbad, Ranigunj, and Bokaro coal fields. Besides, the Godavari, Mahanadi, Son and Wardha valley also contain coal deposits.

2. Tertiary coal deposits which are around 55 million years old. Tertiary coal deposits are found in the North-Eastern states of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.