Coal mining in Nepal explained
Deposits of coal are found in Tosh, Siuja, Azimara and Abidhara in Dang, and a few other places in Sallyan, Rolpa, Pyuthan and Palpa districts of Nepal.[1] The total estimated deposits are about 5 million tons. Due to the low volume of deposits, mining is done by traditional methods. The mines have been exploited since the early 1960s; however due to lack of proper markets, they are not exploited to their full capacity.
Deposits
Geologically, the main coal deposits can be categorized into:[2]
The coal in the Sub-Himalaya (Siwalik/Churia) has some radioactive minerals mixed in the coal.[4]
Production
There are 11 small scale coal mines that are in operation scattered throughout Nepal.[5] Some additional licenses are issued by the government for exploration.[6] The annual production is shown in table below.[3]
| Year | Production
(metric tons) |
|---|
| 2009/10 | 7,867 |
| 2010/11 | 9,935 |
| 2011/12 | 10,499 |
| 2012/13 | 13,838 |
| 2013/14 | 8,151 |
| 2014/15 | 6,754 |
| 2015/16 | 2,900 |
| 2016/17 | 7,025 |
| 2018 | 11,522 | |
Environmental concerns
Some lands have started to cave-in and some landslides have been triggered near the mining area. Also, the ground water has dried up. This has caused conflict between locals and mine operators.[5]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: FNCCI. Minerals & Mining - Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry [FNCCI]]. 2021-06-09. 2021-06-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20210609030501/https://www.fncci.org/minerals--mining-152.html. live.
- 2676-1378. 58. 189–197. Sah. Ram Bahadur. Paudyal. Kabi Raj. Geological control of mineral deposits in Nepal. Journal of Nepal Geological Society. 2019. 10.3126/jngs.v58i0.24604. 200082300. free.
- 19. Kumar. Shiv. COAL RESOURCES AND THEIR STATUS IN NEPAL.
- 2392-4322. 85–96. Paudel. Devi Prasad. Present Status and Utilization of the Mineral Resources in Nepal. The Third Pole: Journal of Geography Education. 2019. 10.3126/ttp.v18i0.28009. 226774126. free.
- Web site: Palpa folk concerned about adverse effects of coal mining. 2021-06-09. 2021-06-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20210609030500/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/02/27/palpa-folk-concerned-about-adverse-effects-of-coal-mining. live.
- Web site: Mineral Resources of Nepal and their present status – Nepal Geological Society. 2021-06-09. 2021-03-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20210302205917/http://ngs.org.np/mineral-resources-of-nepal-and-their-present-status/. live.
