Raniganj Coalfield is primarily located in the Asansol

Asansol subdivision

Asansol subdivision is a subdivision of the Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Asansol municipal corporation, three municipalities and four community development blocs: Barabani, Jamuria, Raniganj and Salanpur. The four blocks contain 35 gram panchayats and 18...

 and Durgapur

Durgapur subdivision

Durgapur subdivision is a subdivision of the Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal, India. It consists of Durgapur municipal corporation and five community development blocs: Durgapur–Faridpur, Galsi–I, Kanksa, Andal and Pandabeswar. The five blocks contain 36 gram panchayats...

 subdivisions of Bardhaman district

Bardhaman District

'Bardhaman district is a district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Bardhaman, though it houses other important industrial towns like Durgapur and Asansol...

 in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

. It spreads over to the neighbouring districts of Birbhum

Birbhum district

Birbhum district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the three administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is located at Suri...

, Bankura

Bankura District

Bankura district is one of the seven districts of Burdwan Division in the Indian state of West Bengal. The district has been described as the “connecting link between the plains of Bengal on the east and Chota Nagpur plateau on the west.” The areas to the east and north-east are low lying alluvial...

, Purulia

Purulia District

Purulia district is one of the nineteen districts of West Bengal state in eastern India. The town of Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district.-History:...

 and Dhanbad

Dhanbad District

Dhanbad district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Dhanbad is the administrative headquarters of this district...

.

History

Coalmining in India first started in the Raniganj Coalfield. In 1774, John Sumner and Suetonius Grant Heatly

Suetonius Grant Heatly

Suetonius Grant Heatly was judge employed by the British East India Company and, with John Sumner, established what is considered to be the first coal mine in India.-Early life:...

 of the British East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

 found coal near Ethora

Ethora

Ethora is a village in the Asansol subdivision of the Bardhaman district in the Indian state of West Bengal which was a site of the first attempts at commercial coal extraction in the country.-History:...

, presently in Salanpur community development block. The early exploration and mining operations were carried out in a haphazard manner.

Regular mining started in 1820, led by an agency house, Alexander & Co. In 1835, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore

Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...

 bought over the collieries and Carr and Tagore Co. led the field. For the entire 19th century and a major part of the 20th century, Ranigunj coalfields was the major producer of coal in the country.

At the behest of William Princep, Carr and Tagore Co. joined hands with Gilmore Hombray and Co. in 1843 to form Bengal Coal Co., which opened up coal mining activities. Their headquarters was at Sanctoria

Dishergarh

Dishergarh is a town under the Kulti Police Station in Asansol subdivision of Bardhaman district in the state of West Bengal. It is situated at the border of the Puruliya district and Bardhaman district in West Bengal. The Purulia - Barakar State Highway passes through Dishergarh...

. Other mining companies included Birbhum Coal Co., Equitable Coal Co., Madhu Roy and Prasanna Dutta Co., Bird and Co., South Barakar Coal Co., Andrew Yule and Company Ltd.

Andrew Yule and Company Ltd.

Andrew Yule & Co. Ltd. is an Indian manufacturing and industrial conglomerate, primarily owned by the Indian Government. It is the main company owned by the Yule Group. It is currently headquartered in Kolkata , and has offices in the main Indian cities...

 and Balmer Lawrie

Balmer Lawrie

Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd is a Government of India Enterprise which manufactures barrels and drums, greases and lubricants, performance chemicals, functional additives and marine freight containers.It also undertakes tea exports and trading, travel, tours, and cargo and engineering services such as...

.

In 1886, W.W.Hunter wrote, “Raniganj Coalfield has been estimated at an area of 500 square miles. In this ‘black country of India’ , which is dotted with tall chimney stalks, many European companies are at work, besides many native firms. At first coal was raised from open workings; but regular mining is now carried on, according to the system known as ‘pillar and stall’… The miners are all drawn from the aboriginal races, chiefly Santals

Santals

The Santhal , are the largest tribal community in India, who live mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Assam. There is also a significant Santal minority in neighboring Bangladesh, and a small population in Nepal....

 and Bauris

Bauris

The Bauris are people of aboriginal origin, belonging to a caste, low in the caste system in India, found in large numbers in Bankura, Birbhum and other districts in the western fringe of the Indian state of West Bengal....

, who are noted for their endurance and docility.”

The collieries in Raniganj Coalfield were owned by several companies and owners such as
Amalgamated Jambad Syndicate (Private) Limited, Associated Nandi Collieries Limited, Bengal Coal Company, Bimal Kanti Roy, BurrakarCoal Company Limited, Central Poniati Coal Company, Coal & Mineral Syndicate, Dhadka Colliery Company Limited, Dhemomain Collieries and Industries Ltd., Dishergarh Coal Company Limited, East Baraboni Coal Company (Private) Limited, East Barrakar Coal Company (Private) Limited,East Jamuria Coal Company, East Laikdih Colliery Company (Private) Ltd., East Satgram Coal Company Limited, Equitable Coal Company, Ghanshyam Coal Industries (Private) Limited, Ghusick and Muslia Colliery Limited, Gourangdih Colliery Company (Private) Limited, K.C. Pal Choudhury, Khas Kajora Coal Company Limited, Kuaridh Coal Company (Private) Limited, Kumardih Coal Company, Lodna Colliery Company (1920) Limited, Madhujore Coal Company (Private) Limited, Mondal and Company, Neturia Coal Company Limited, New Beerbhum Coal Company Limited, N.H. Ojha and Company, New Jamehari Khas Colliery (Private) Limited, Nimcha Coal Company (Private) Limited, Oriental Mining & Trading Syndicate, Pure Kustore Colliery Company Limited, Ramjibanpur Coal Company Limited, Samla Dalurband Coal Company (Private) Limited, Shetia Mining and Manufacturing Company Limited, Searsole Coal Company Limited, Selected Dalurband Coal Company (Private) Limited, Sitalpur Coal Company (Private) Limited, Sriniwas and Sons, West Ghusick Coal Company Limited, West Bengal Mining Company and Western Bengal Coalfields Limited. These were nationalized in 1973.

Present status

All non-coking coal mines were nationalized in 1973 and placed under Coal Mines Authority of India. In 1975, Eastern Coalfields Limited

Eastern Coalfields Limited

Eastern Coalfields Limited is one of the largest coal producing company of India. The company came in to existence in 1975 after nationalization of coal mines in India. It inherited all the private sector coal mines of Raniganj Coalfields. It is one of the eight fully owned subsidiaries of Coal...

, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited

Coal India Limited

Coal India Limited is an Indian state-controlled coal company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the world's largest coal miner with revenue exceeding 60,245 Crore . It was formerly owned entirely by the Union Government of India, under the administrative control of the Ministry of...

, was formed. It took over all the earlier private collieries in Raniganj Coalfield.

Raniganj Coalfield covers an area of 443.5 square kilometres (171.2 sq mi) and has total coal reserves of 8,552.85 million tonnes.Eastern Coalfields puts the
reserves at 29.72 billion tonnes.That makes it the second largest coalfield in the country (in terms of reserves).

Coal seams

In the Raniganj Coalfield the coal seams can be divided into two blocks – Raniganj measures and Barakar measures. The following areas of ECL are covered by the Raniganj measures: Raniganj-Pandaveswar, Kajora, Jhanjra, Bankola, Kenda, Sonepur, Kunustoria, Satgram, Sripur, Sodepur and Salanpur (partly). Barakar measures cover two areas of ECL: Salanpur and Mugma.

ONGC’s preliminary assessment of coal-bed methane

Coalbed methane

Coalbed methane or Coal Bed Methane, coalbed gas or coal mine methane is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, and other countries...

indicates that four Damodar Valley coalfields – Jharia, Bokaro, North Karanpura and Raniganj – to be the most prospective.