| South Karanpura Coalfield | |
| Pushpin Map: | India Jharkhand |
| Pushpin Label: | South Karanpura |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Jharkhand |
| Coordinates: | 23.6381°N 85.3061°W |
| Subdivision Type: | State |
| State/Province: | Jharkhand |
| Country: | India |
| Owner: | Central Coalfields Limited |
| Official Website: | http://ccl.gov.in/ |
| Acquisition Year: | 1975 |
South Karanpura Coalfield is located in Ramgarh district in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
In 1917, L.S.S.O’Malley described the coalfields in the upper reaches of the Damodar as follows: "Near the western boundary of Jharia field is that of Bokaro, covering 220sqmi, with an estimated content of 1,500 million tons; close by… is the Ramgarh field (40 square miles), in which, however, coal is believed to be of inferior quality. A still larger field in the same district is that called Karanpura, which extends over" 544sqmi "and has an estimated capacity of 9,000 million tons."[1]
The South Karanpura coalfield forms an elongated strip along the Chingara fault. Barkakana railway junction is situated at the south-east edge of the field. There are two coal beds:the upper one is 50feet thick and the lower one 38feet thick, separated by sandstone, shales and shaly coal, mixed coal and shale.[2]
South Karnpura Coalfield covers an area of and has total coal reserves of 5,757.85 million tonnes.[3]
Geological reserves in the South Karanpura Coalfield in million tonnes as on 1/4/2010:[4]
| Type of Coal | Proved | Indicated | Inferred (exploration) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium coking coal | 513.40 | 296.23 | 809.63 | |
| Non-coking coal | 2620.41 | 1507.42 | 1212.65 | 5340.48 |
| Total | 2620.41 | 2020.82 | 1508.88 | 6510.11 |
| CCL Operational Area | Projects | |
|---|---|---|
| Barka Sayal Area | Bhurkunda underground, Central Saunda underground, Saunda D underground, Saunda underground, Sayal D underground, Urimari underground, North Urimari/ Birsa opencast, Bhurkunda opencast. The area office is at Sayal, PO Saunda.[5] | |
| Argada Area | Gidi A Open Cast, Gidi C opencast, Religara opencast/ underground, Sirka opencast, Sirka underground, Argada underground, Giddi Washery. The area office is at Sirka, PO Argada 829101.[6] | |
| Non-CCL mines | Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation: Patratu [7] |
In 1927, Bengal Nagpur Railway opened the 72miles Barkakana-Muri-Chandil line to traffic. In the same year the Central India Coalfields Railway opened the Gomoh-Barkakana line. It was extended to Daltonganj in 1929. Later these lines were amalgamated with East India Railway.[8]
The Koderma–Hazaribagh–Barkakana–Ranchi line became functional between Koderma and Barkakana in 2015 and 2016.[9] [10]