KARACHI: The coalfields in the southeastern Sindh province of Pakistan are contributing enormously towards power generation, meeting the national energy needs.
Sindh is endowed with quality lignite (coal) deposits suitable for electric power generation and other applications. The total coal reserves of the province are estimated to be 184 billion tonnes.
“Ninety percent of coal for power generation in the country was supplied from the coalfields of Sindh,” said Rauf Abro, Director of the Sindh Energy Department.
Sindh has many coalfields, with Thar housing the largest reserves sufficient for centuries to come, Abro said.
According to the Sindh Energy Department, the Lakhra coal field is located about 190km northeast of Karachi and about 50km north of Hyderabad, covering an area of around 1300 sq km. Coal mining has been in practice for the last 50 years. The coal quality is lignite to sub-bituminous, suitable for power generation. Already, 3x50MW FBC Power Plant is operating on Lakhra coal. The total coal reserves have been estimated to be 1.328 billion tonnes.
Sonda-Jherruk Coal Field is located about 100km east of Karachi and about 100km west of Hyderabad near Thatta. Spread over an area of about 1400sq km, it is the largest coal field in the country, having reserves of 7.112 billion tonnes. The coal is A to sub-bituminous C and can be effectively used for power generation.
Metting-Jhampir Coalfield lies about 125km east of Karachi in the vicinity of Jhampir and Metting Railway Stations on the main railway track. The field covers an area of about 200 sq km. The quality is lignite A to sub-bituminous B. It has been mined for the last 60 years and is mostly used as fuel in brick kilns. Coal briquette can be considered for use as a domestic fuel. The total coal reserves are 0.161 billion tonnes.
Badin Coalfield lies about 20km east of Karachi and 75km southwest of Hyderabad, covering an area of about 600 sq km. So far, 27 test boreholes have been drilled in the area identifying C grade coal. The total coal reserves are 0.061 billion tonnes.
Thar Coal field, located in southeastern part of Sindh, is one of the world’s largest and is sufficient to meet the fuel requirement of the country for centuries. It is located about 380km east of Karachi and is spread over an area of more than 9500 sq km
The coal is lignite A to B with low sulphur to form a dependable source of energy to achieve the objective of self-reliance in the power sector. The total coal reserves are 175.506 billion tonnes.
Rauf said the Sindh government was exploring more coalfields to effectively meet the energy appetite of power and industrial sectors. –INP
