SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT of THAR COAL, PAKISTAN

摘要

Thar coalfield was discovered in 1994 with total lignite resource of more than 175 billion tons in the area of 9100 km2 at That, Pakistan.Detailed exploration work was conducted, by various agencies, in twelve blocks which had been developed at Thar coalfield, covering an area of 1,192 km2.653 boreholes were drilled within twelve exploratory blocks and total lignite resource was estimated as 29.9 billion tons.General lithology of Thar coalfield is composed of recent deposit of sand dunes at the top with an average depth of 80m.Sub-recent formation occurs below dune sand with an average depth of 70m and consists of siltstone, claystone and sandstone.Bara formation occurs below the sub-recent formation with an average depth of 95m and containing a number of coal seams.Basement granite occurs below the Bara formation.We have conducted in depth study, through a Ph.D project, for the assessment of coal resource at Thar coalfield.During this study, a number of milestones have been achieved including 3Dmultiseam modeling, geostatistical analysis of quality parameters & generation of quality maps, generation of stripping ratio distribution map and demarcation of areas suitable for open pit and underground mining operation.Four options, for the development of Thar coal, have been discussed in this paper.We are also conducting a study on coal gasification to develop a two stage entrained flow gasifier with multi opposite burners, suitable for local lignite.Potential of Thar coal has been evaluated also.In the end a proposal for the development of underground coal mine has been presented.