Madhy a Pradesh, including Chhattisgarli, has 22.71 per cent of the total reserves and 29.95 per cent of the total production of coal in the country. The state ranks third in respect of reserves and first in the production of coal in India.

Coal deposits mainly occur in Rewa, Raigarh, Chhindwara, B ilaspur, Surguja, Narsingpur and Betul districts. Singrauli, Umaria, Korar, Sohagpur, Johilla (Rewa district), Tatapani, Ramkola, Jhilmilli, Bisrampur, Jhagarkhand, Kharasia, Koreagarh, Rampur, Lakhanpur (Surguja district), Damhamunda, Sendurgarh, Korba (Bilaspur district), Mand river, Raigarh (Raigarh district), Mohapani-Gotiloriaarea (Narsingpur district), Pench, Kanhan valley (Chhindwara district), Patakhera, Dulhara, Shahpur and Bonada (Betul district) are main coalfields of the state.

(a) The Singrauli (Waidhian) coalfield in Sidhi and Shahdol districts occupies a total area of 2,337 sq km. With 9,207 million tones of total coal reserves (4.89% of India). It is the largest coalfield of Madhya Pradesh. Jhingurda, Panipahari, Khadia, Purewa and Turra are important coal seams .Jhingurda with total thickness of 131 m is the thickest coal seam of the country. Coal contains 8-8.36% of moisture, 26.42-32.22% of volatile mat­ter, 42.10-48.22% of fixed carbon and 17-17.08% of ash. Coal is utilised in thermal power plant of Obra.

(b) The Korba coalfield stretches over an area of 515 sq km in the valleys of the Haisdo and its tributaries (Ahran and Kurang) in Bilaspur district.

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Coal occurs in the Barakar measures with total thickness of 700 m. Two coal seams with thickness of 21.3 3 m and 45.72 m are workable. Coal is of I and III grade and is utilised in Korba thermal power plant.

(c) The Pench-Kanhan-Tawa coalfields in Chhindwara district contain about 1,956 million tons (proved reserve 1,079 million tons) of semi-coking and non-coking coal. The Ghorawari seam (thickness4.57 m) in Kanhan field is important where coal is of coking quality.

(d) The Sohagpur coalfield lies in Shahdol district where coal seams attain a thickness of 3-5 m; this is an extensive coal area containing a reserve of 2,284 million tones.

(e) The Bisrampur coalfield with total reserve of 542 million tones lies in Surguja district. It has four coal seams with thickness between 30 cm and 1.8 m.

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(f) Hassdo-Arand coalfield occupies an area of 1,004 sq km extending from Rampur (Surguja) Arand valley (Bilaspur). Coal seams have average thickness between 2.5 and 7 m with estimated reserves of 4,321 million tones.

(g) Chirmiri coalfield covers a total area if 128 sq. km in Surguja district. It has 4 coal seams d which three contain good quality coal. The total estimated coal reserve is 362 million tones.

(h) Lakhanpur coalfield lays south Bishrampur coalfield in Surguja and Bilaspur districts. Here coal seams attain a thickness of 1 to 31 and provide II and III grades of non-coking coal.

(i) Jhilmili coalfield occupies a total area o 106 sq km in Surguja district. It is an extension of th Sohagpur coalfield. It has five coal seams whip belong to the Talcher and Barakar measures. Ti coal is of non-coking type with higher percentage of ash

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(j) Johilla coalfield lies in the river valley o the Johilla covering a total area of 37.76 sq km. The coal belongs to the Barakar measures with estimate reserves of 311 million tones.

(k) Sonhat coal field in Surguja district contains 35 million tons of high grade, 37 million tones of II grade and 22 million tones of III grade coal. Kutkona, Charcha and Sardili coal bearing strata are worth mentioning some of which contain selected grade coal.

(1) Umaria coalfield is situated 58 km south­east of Katni and occupies a total area of 15.4 sq km. It contains 6 coal seams of which 4 are important (thickness 2.13 m-3.9 m). The coal has higher per­centage of moisture and ash with total proved re­serve of 58 million tones.

(m) Tatapani-Ramkola coalfields occupy north-eastern part of surgical district between the Kanhar and Rehar rivers. The coal belongs to the Damuda series with 10.98% of moisture, 36.46% of volatile matter, 44.06% of fixed carbon and 8.5% of ash.