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

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

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]

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

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

• Mineral resources of Nepal

References

1. FNCCI. "Minerals & Mining - Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry [FNCCI]". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
2. 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.
3. Kumar, Shiv. "COAL RESOURCES AND THEIR STATUS IN NEPAL": 19. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. 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.
5. "Palpa folk concerned about adverse effects of coal mining". Archived from the original on 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-09.
6. "Mineral Resources of Nepal and their present status – Nepal Geological Society". Archived from the original on 2021-03-02. Retrieved 2021-06-09.