Pakistan coal reserves over 186Bn tonnes

Islamabad: Pakistan is on the 7^th position in the world when it comes to coal reserves; it has 186 billion tonnes of coal which is ample supply for the future power generation of Pakistan.

According to Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources Sindh is the most richest province having 185.457 million tonnes coal reserves, followed by Balochistan with 458.7 million tonnes, the Punjab 235 million tonnes, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 122.99 million tonnes and Azad Kashmir 09 million tonnes. A major portion of coal reserves of Punjab are situated in the salt range.

The reserves are mainly located in four districts, Jhelum, Chakwal, Khushab and Mianwali, he said.

He said the coal field covers an area of about 260 square kilometres. It varies in thickness from 0.3 metre to 1.5 metres with an average thickness of 0.75 metres.
The world’s best coal is found in Asia. Pakistan tops in lignite coal-bearing countries in Asia as 97 percent of coal reserves of Pakistan belong to lignite and remaining only 3 percent are sub-bituminous to bituminous.