science

Thar coalfield

Thar coalfield is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thar coalfield rather than just read about it. In short: The Thar coalfield is located in Thar Desert, Tharparkar District, Sindh, Pakistan. It contains the sixteenth-largest coal reserves in the world, discovered in 1991 by the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Key takeaways

Thar coalfield belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thar coalfield to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thar coalfield from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Thar coalfield is located in Thar Desert, Tharparkar District, Sindh, Pakistan. It contains the sixteenth-largest coal reserves in the world, discovered in 1991 by the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The discovery was the culmination of a coal exploration and assessment programme carried out under the auspices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This programme began in 1985 and formally concluded in June 1993. Pakistan is regarded as one of the leading countries in terms of coal resources, with lignite coal from eastern Sindh playing an increasingly important role in the national and provincial economy. The economic deposits are mainly restricted to Paleocene and Eocene rock formations. The Thar coalfield covers more than 9,000 square kilometres and is estimated to contain about 200 billion tonnes of lignite, sufficient to meet Pakistan's fuel requirements for centuries. The Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) is the principal operator engaged in mining activities at the field.

Location The Thar coalfield is located approximately between Latitudes 24°15'N and 25°45'N and Longitudes 69° 45'E and 70° 45'E in the southern part of Sindh Province in the Survey of Pakistan topo-sheet Nos. 40 L/2,5 and 6. Based on available infrastructure and favourable geology, the Geological Survey of Pakistan selected four blocks near Islamkot for exploration and assessment of coal resources. The blocks with names, area and coordinates are given in Table-1:

The area is accessible by a 410-kilometre metalled road from Karachi to Islamkot via Hyderabad-Mirpur Khas-Naukot and Thatta-Badin-Mithi-Islamkot. A road network connecting all the major towns with Thar coalfield have been developed. The rail links from Hyderabad is up to Naukot, which is about 100 kilometres from Islamkot.

Relief, topography and climate Thar coalfield is a part of the Thar Desert of Pakistan, the ninth-largest desert in the world. It is bounded in the north, east and south by India, in the west by flood plains of the Indus River. The terrain is sandy and rough with sand dunes forming the topography. The relief in the area varies between near sea level to more than 150 metres above sea level. The climate is essentially that of an arid to semi-arid region with scorching hot summers and relatively cold winters. It is one of the most densely populated deserts of the world with over 91,000 inhabitants. The livelihood of the population depends on agriculture and livestock.

Water The area is a part of the desert where precipitation is very little with a high rate of evaporation. As such, limited water resources are of great significance.

Surface water – The water is scant and found in a few small "tarais" and artificially dug depressions where rain water collects. These depressions generally consist of silty clay and caliche material. Groundwater – The hydro geological studies and drill hole geology shows the presence of three possible aquifer zones at varying depths: (i) above the coal zone (ii) within the coal zone and (iii) below the coal zone. Drilling data has indicated three aquifers (water-bearing zones) at an average depth of 50 metres, 120 metres and more than 200 metres:

One aquifer above the coal zone: Ranges between 52.70 and 93.27 metres' depth. Second aquifer with the coal zone at 120 metres' depth: Varying thickness up to 68.74 metres. Third aquifer below the coal zone at 200 metres' depth: Varying thickness up to 47 metres. Water quality is brackish to saline.

Geology The Thar coalfield area is covered by dune sand that extends to an average depth of over 80 metres and rests upon a structural platform in the eastern part of the desert. The generalised stratigraphic sequence in the Thar coalfield area is shown in table. It comprises Basement Complex, coal bearing Bara Formation, alluvial deposits and dune sand.

Coal The coal beds of variable thickness ranging from 0.20–22.81 metres are developed. The maximum number of coal seams found in some of the drill holes is 20. The cumulative thickness of the coal beds range from 0.2 to 36 metres. Claystone invariably forms the roof and the floor rock of the coal beds. The coal is brownish black, black and grayish black in colour. It is poorly to well cleared and compact. The quality of coal is better where percentage of clay is nominal.

Reserves As a result of widespread drilling over an area of 9,000 km2, a total of 175 billion tons of coal resource potential has been assessed, equivalent to total oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran combined and can be used to produce 100,000 MW for 300 years. Detailed evaluation on four blocks has following results.

The overburden consists of three kinds of material: dune sand, alluvium and sedimentary sequence. The total overburden is around 150 to 230 metres. The roof and the floor rocks are claystone and loose sandstone beds.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thar coalfield

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thar coalfield claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thar coalfield before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thar coalfield ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thar coalfield

In research: Thar coalfield appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thar coalfield in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thar coalfield is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coal in Sindh, Coal mining, Coal mining regions in Pakistan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thar coalfield outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Thar coalfield in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thar coalfield means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thar coalfield out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thar coalfield in simple terms?

Why does Thar coalfield matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thar coalfield?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thar coalfield.