Coal mining in Nepal
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,[clarification needed] they are not exploited to their full capacity.
Deposits
[edit]Geologically, the main coal deposits can be categorized into:[2]
- Quaternary Lignite deposits of Kathmandu Valley
- Siwalik coal found in the Sub-Himalayas
- Cretaceous-Eocene coal and Gondwana coal found in the Lesser Himalayas[3]
The coal in the Sub-Himalaya (Siwalik/Churia) has some radioactive minerals mixed in the coal.[4]
Production
[edit]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]
 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
| 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
[edit]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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ FNCCI. "Minerals & Mining - Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry [FNCCI]". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
- ^ Sah, Ram Bahadur; Paudyal, Kabi Raj (2019). "Geological control of mineral deposits in Nepal". Journal of Nepal Geological Society. 58: 189–197. doi:10.3126/jngs.v58i0.24604. ISSN 2676-1378. S2CID 200082300.
- ^ a b Kumar, Shiv. "COAL RESOURCES AND THEIR STATUS IN NEPAL": 19.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Paudel, Devi Prasad (2019). "Present Status and Utilization of the Mineral Resources in Nepal". The Third Pole: Journal of Geography Education: 85–96. doi:10.3126/ttp.v18i0.28009. ISSN 2392-4322. S2CID 226774126.
- ^ a b "Palpa folk concerned about adverse effects of coal mining". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
- ^ "Mineral Resources of Nepal and their present status – Nepal Geological Society". Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-06-09.