Raniganj coalfield
Topic: Energy Resources of India: Conventional and Non-conventional · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 5 "Mineral and Energy Resources"
Meaning
Raniganj is a coalfield in the Damodar valley of West Bengal. It is India's oldest coalfield, mined since 1774, and the second largest after Jharia. Its Gondwana coal feeds the steel and other industries of the Durgapur–Asansol belt. It is also where India's first commercial coal-bed methane came from, in 2007.
Example
Steel plants and factories at Durgapur and Asansol in West Bengal grew up close to the Raniganj coalfield because coal is bulky and costly to transport.
Don't confuse with
- Jharia coalfield: Jharia, in Dhanbad district (Jharkhand), is also in the Damodar valley, but it is the largest coalfield and the main source of coking coal. Raniganj is the oldest and second largest.
Related concepts
- Coal reserves distribution
- Jharia coalfield
- Singrauli coalfield
- Hasdeo Arand coalfield
- Coal-bed methane
- Coal gasification