ON THE GEOLOGY AND CORRELATTION OF COAL SEAMS OF PENCH-KANHAN-UPPER TAWA VALLEY COALFIELD, DISTRICT ,

H. S. PAREEK 202 E, West End Road, Meerut Cantt. (U.P.)

ABSTRACT (22°28': 78°26')" (Fox, 1934). The limits The Satpura Gondwana basin has not drawn as may be taken as from Mohpani (22°45': much attention during the recent years, as other 78°50') on the north to Pathakhera (22°6': basins have from coal geologists for systematic 78°10') on the south, and from mapping and coal seam correlation. Hence scat• (22°12': 78°50') in the east to Sonada tered information only is available for parts of coalfields of this basin. The geology of the Pench, (22°16': 77°47') in the west. The coalfields Kanhan and Upper Tawa valley coalfields is pre• included in this basin are Mohpani (22°45': sented in this paper, which also brings out the 78°50') in the extreme north, Pench valley coal seams and their correlation in these areas. As and Kanhan valley in the east, and Patha• all major Gondwana basins have been named after their principal drainage, the term Pench-Kanhan• khera, Dulhara (22° 10': 78°1'), Shahpur Tawa valley basin is preferred to Satpura Gondwana (Tawa) (22°10': 77°54'), and Sonada from basin. east to west on the west. The present The Lower Gondwana formations of the coal• knowledge on their geology exists due to field include the Talchirs, Barakars and Moturs, while separated exposures of the Upper Gondwanas Blanford (1882), Jones (1887), and Fox occur in the Pench valley region. The Talchirs (1934). are in faulted contact with the Barakars in the Of these coalfields', the Tawa valley area northern portion of the coalfield. Faulting is is undeveloped, while the Pench valley has common in the sedimentaries. Three coal seams numbered as I, II and III from been explored and worked out to an extent the top and ofthicknesses 1'22-8' 53m., 0'60-1'82 m., greater than that of the Kanhan valley. and 0'60-2'13 m. respectively, occur within the The Gondwanas occur as a small patch Barakars. The seam characteristics have been near Sirgora, and form a continuous strip presented. A thin seam, named as Leader, persis• tently appears following as a younger seam over from (22°12': 78°49') in the east each of the seams II and III. In the Pench valley to Nonkharak (22°11'30": 78°10') in the region the Leader has coalesced with the respective west, being affected by faults at places. seams in certain areas. In seam I, a tonstein band This tract stretching for 63 km. with a appearing microscopically as sandy carbonaceous kaolinitic mudstone grades laterally into shale and width of 8 to 10 km. is traversed by the siltstone. rivers Pench, Kanhan and Tanbia (Upper Tawa). These coal-bearing areas represent INTRODUCTION the Pench-Kanhan-Upper Tawa valley Coal• field, and this paper presents its geology, and occurrence and correlation of coal coalfields of are restricted to the seams, as studied by the author. As is well-known, the major Gondwana . fresh-water basins named as the GEOLOGY OF THE COALFIELD Damodar valley, Mahanadi valley, Wardha• Godavari valley, and Satpura Gondwana All the major basins of Gondwana de• basins. The attention of coal geologists position owe nomenclature to their principal that has been drawn is of a lesser signi• drainage system, and hence the Pench• ficance with respect to the Satpura Gond• Kanhan-Tawa valley basin is preferable to wana basin, possibly because the coal seams Satpura Gondwana basin. The Pench are of comparatively lesser thickness, and valley, Kanhan valley and Upper Tawa the areas are under-developed with problems valley areas cannot be demarcated sharply of means of communication. from one another and have accordingly The Satpura Gondwana basin includes been described as the Pench-Kanhan-Upper " the hilly region of Hoshangabad, northern Tawa valley coalfield (Pareek, 1969a). The Chhindwara and north-east Betul. In it geological sequence of the rock formations lie the Mahadeva hills around in the coalfield is as follows. 95 96 THE PALAEOBOl' ANIST

Recent Alluvium Text-figure 1 shows the geological map Upper Lava flows (Deccan Trap) and dykes Cretaceous of dolerite, sometimes Olivine-bear• of the area covered. The general strike of ing. the sedimentaries is ENE-WSW, and the dips are northerly, varying from 5° to 15°...... Unconformity . Strike faulting is quite common and the Upper Stage: Clays, massive sand• fault zone is marked by silicification. The Gondwana stones, often gritty, and Carbonaceous Gondwana patch near Sirgora owes its shales in the Sirgora area. preservation due to two parallel strike ...... Unconformity . faults. The patch of Talchirs near Chhinda Lower Motur Stage: Yellowish sandstones, (22°12': 78°51') has its southern side in Gondwana mottled red, buff, yellow and green faulted contact with the traps and the clays, often with calcareous nodules. northern side with the Barakars and the Red clays diminish westwards being traps, as seen in the Pench. A tributary of practically absent in the Upper Tawa valley .450-610 metres. the Pench has meandered along the strike Barakar Stage: l\Iedium to coarse• faults, before enjoining the Pench. A small grained sandstones, shales, carbonace• patch of Barakars is also preserved in be• ous shales and three interbedded coal tween the Moturs. An ENE-WSW fault also seams 120-130 metres. Talchir Stage: Greyish, greenish to dislocates the Barakars, west of Jamkunda, olive-green shales, claystone, fine• where the Talchirs are in direct faulted grained sandstones with undecom• contact with the Moturs. This can be posed felspar, and boulder bed. considered as the arbitrary boundary for ...... Unconformity . demarcating the coal-bearing areas of the Pench and Kanhan valleys. Archaean Metamorphics: Granites, often porphy- ritic, hornblende gneiss, schists and A number of strike and dip faults exist amphibolites. in the Kanhan valley region. One strike fault stretches for a distance of 24 km., being affected by a dolerite dyke in the The Kanhan valley exposes the full se• Ghorawari Khurd (22°11': 78°15') area and quence of rock formations in the coalfield. by a NN E-SSW fault near (22°12': The boundary between the sedimentaries 78°28'). Faults are also very common and metamorphics is faulted and so also of the Talchirs and Barakars. The exact within the traps. thickness of the Talchirs is difficult to be DESCRIPTION OF THE ROCK FORMA• ascertained since they rest unconformably TIONS on irregular surface of the basement rocks and are in faulted contact with the over• T alchirs: The surface soil concealing the lying Barakars. A total of 1000 m. of the Talchirs below is marked by a greyish to Lower Gondwana strata reducing in thick• greenish colour of the fragments and splin• ness westwards exists in the coalfield. The ters of the Talchir shales. It is only along Barakars grade into the Moturs at some the railway cuttings, nalas, and river sec• places, while they are in faulted contact at tions that the Talchirs are well-exposed. others. Scattered outcrops of the Upper The rocks include greyish and khaki-greyish Gondwana occur in the Pench valley region shales, greenish sandstones, boulder bed, and their typical sequence is in the area and greenish to olive-green claystone, around Sirgora. characterized by spheroidal weathering The Deccan Trap co\'ers most of the (Pareek, 1968). Varves so common in Pench valley region, concealing the Gond• other coalfields (Ghosh, 1962; Pareek, 1965) wanas specially in the eastern portion of are not of any conspicuous occurrence. the coalfield. The trap exposures also No well-preserved plant fossils were avail• occur due south of Barkui (22°11': 78°42'), able. and from its east towards Dighawami and Barakars: The sequence exhibited is shale, Sirgora. Scattered exposures also appear carbonaceous shale and sandstone grading all round Chandameta (22°11'30": 78°44'). from fine to coarse-grained; shale, siltstone, Dykes of dolerite are also spread through• and shaly sandstone; shale, carbonaceous out the area. Most of the Pench-Kanhan• shale, shaly coal and coal. The sandstones Upper Tawa area is, therefore, covered by exposed in the river valley sections are the Talchirs, Moturs and the Deccan Trap. massive although bedded, and exhibit big "0 >• ;!:::-.40-, ~ tI1 "" tI1 ~ I ~'.'G<>J~ ,~ :: 00 ~ ....~: o t"' GEOLOGICAL MAP OF PENCH - tC;ANHAN VALLEv COALFIELD, MA.DHYA PRADESH o seA\.£ 1M I(ILOII[".U'- ~

&!D JABAL PUR ~.MOTUR ~ (EX] ARCHA[.t.H Ij i OlPS n o ~

TEXT-FIG. 1 - Geological map of Pench-Kanhan Valley Coalfield, Madhya Pradesh. ~ S o..... Z o "Ij n o ~

SKETCH MAP SHOWING COLLIERIES OF' gj PENCH'KANHAN VALLEY COAL FIELD, ~ DISTRICT CHHINOWARA. M P ",,,,,~\------•... -' " \.0\ [J) /_. ~ I o C"""'O" I:' \ Slll.O." ~ "Ij ~/.UtlA ••• v••o1 1 ...... t_-_...- -', - - ...... •..•_ .....!- --Ll:G(NO CIt!OA ~~\.Ct::"'",::c con,U1' '."."'tIlO\. cou., I ~ _IIOAD __ IIA~.'" ____ V1\.LAUaouNIU •• 'I' ~

TEXT-FIG. 2 - Sketch map showing collieries of Pench-Kanhan Valley Coalfield, Dist. Chhindwara, M.P. ~ ::r: ~ "-.0 98 THE PALAEOBOTANIST

pot holes. They are interbedded with mica• to seam I, while the two seams of Sirgora ClWUS sandstones and comprise angular are a correlate with seams I and II. quartz grains, altered felspars and limonitic One thick seam numbered as I is being stains. The shales are greyish, occasionally actively worked in the Kanhan valley area. grading into carbonaceous shales. The Two thin seams numbered as II and III are Barakars contain three interbedded eco• being worked in the Ghorawari area. A nomically workable coal seams. Leaf im• seam of similar thickness has been encoun• pressions typical of the age are common in tered in the drill holes at Rakhikol. Two· the shales. Fossil woods belonging mostly seams below seam I are recorded to exist to the Dadoxylon group are found at places. in the different parts of the valley. Three M oturs: These form the Barren Measures workable seams I, II and III thus occur in of the coalfield and are different in litho• this area. The thick seam outcropping at logical composition from those of any other Tandsi (Upper Tawa valley) correlates to· basin in that they include coarse-grained seam I (PAREEK,1966). to gritty yellowish sandstones, shaly beds A thin seam is traceable above each of and mottled clays of yellow, green, and red the seams II and III at different localities. colours, most commonly, and associated and is named as Leader to II or to III. with calcareous nodules. The sandstones lt serves as an indicator horizon, and has· have undecomposed felspars and clayey coalesced with seam II in the Rawanwara concretions. The clays are non-plastic. No area, and seam III in the North Chandameta plant fossils have been recorded, but fossil area. wood has been reported near the base Text-figure 4 shows the diagrammatic of Moturs in the Kanhan valley area sketch of the behaviour of the coal seams in. (PAREEK, 1969b). the coalfield_ Seam I has an upper shaly section and a lower of good coal. Its. COAL SEAMS AND THEIR CORRELATION maximum thickness is 8'50 m. in the Sirgora area of Pench valley, and 7-30 m. Coal seams do not outcrop in the area, in the Rakhikol area of Kanhan valley_ as is so commonly noticeable in other The workable section is 3-65 m. in Rakhikol coalfields specially the lharia coalfield, and and 5-80 m. in Sirgora. This seam is seen. hence their knowledge is based on the to persist in thickness in the Kanhan valley underground workings. Text-figure 2 shows area, and is of thinned appearance in the the locations of different working collieries, Pench valley area till it has again thickened while text-figure 3 records the nature of in the Sirgora area. Its thickness is 2-42 m. underground strata, as revealed by bore in Chandameta, 1·22 m. in East Dongar hole logs and mine workings in different Chickli, and 1-36 m. in Rawanwara areas. important collieries of the coalfield. The Seam II has a thickness of 0-60 m. in principal producing collieries are the Rakhi• Rakhikol, thickening to 0·98 m. in Datla, kol, Kalichhapar, Damua, Ghorawari group, 1-35 m. in Eklehra, 1-82 m. in East Dongar and Datla 'Vest in the Kanhan valley, and Chickli and 3-40 m. in Rawanwara, where Eklehra, Chandameta, and Rawanwara in the Leader has coalesced with the seam, the Pench valley. In the Pench valley, a and 1-28 m. in the Sirgora area on eventual continuous spread of coal measures exists thinning and splitting of the Leader and eastvyards from Barkui to the Pench, the seam II. most actively exploited area being between Seam III has a thickness of 0·60 m. in Barkui and Rawamvara and the strip the Kanhan valley, and has thickened to eastwards from Eklehra. 1-35 m. at Eklehra, 2·44 m. at North Three coal seams numbered as I, II and Chandameta, where it has coalesced with III from the top exist in the Pench valley. its Leader, and 2·50 m. at Rawanwara. In the Dighawani area, three coal seams In the Sirgora area, the seam thickness occur in 4-70 m. of strata in the River varies from 1·83 to 2'14 m. This seam is Pench (Blanford, 1882). In the nala east of best quality in the ~orth Chandameta, of Sirgora, and in the Mandlajob to the Rawanwara and Sirgora areas. Similarly west of Haranbhata (22°12': 78°55'), two enough, seam II is the best in the whole coal seams up to a depth of 18 m. have area at Rawanwara. been proved by drilling by private com• The top part of the Tandsi seam exposed panies. The Dighawani seams correspond in the Tanbia valley of the Upper Tawa 'M'.,

BORE HOLE LOGS SHOWING THE NATURE OF UNDERGROUND STRATA AND OCCURRENCE OF '"d .00.. > COAL SEAMS IN THE PENCH-KANHAN VALLEY COALFIELD, DIST. CHHINDWARA,M.P. ~ •.... tT1 :-:: I.1,~':::•••h"'!IIh'ft';;:~'",it" $~ol. willi lIonell$:~-:~~(001 Co.I •••••• 1I1 ]'2011I. I'PO •. ·.,-Shol, I =~:'i;::"i;;d.:'~:·~~O" WIilllt$Oftddoft.· g .",.. o t- ezs •. llRAICHIKOL COLLIERIES lid) tiZ 110 ••. n - 1~';:1(~:~m(1l061O~;OH o eIO(~'I~ HorlOnollon. 0•••A '. 800 1••• 5,'1 y,1I0wIOndll••••• ~ ":lfIIl ··:_"'·~~:~:;::.;:1I- ::: ••:~, ••".~';;.. .:-:~:\:~ ~~.G:J"". ~ ir:~_,I.~O,~ft~~'::~I: ••••~ ••• Sondt'on, t-<

180",- Itl1H.2111. RAWARI QUARRY .";'_:.': ~ I Clo, >-< ---8kml GHO • , 8ROS.....~Il'H.~d,1,.L" I •••O.r)06 =[;;.::.:~. dl.~elu.cl ••1 y,llowSondlloft. o ""fIIl. Ho,' A,ddU~ Sorodlloftt Z V.lIowWl9,,,,Stftcbl_ G••, aOndllOnt o ""': "L.f' -, ~ S~ol, Sondlton, "Ij "OM, L~~.;aS::~~:n. Ho,", P.doil~ S""d."". S~ol, Sond"of>t Cool •• om 01 ]"0111. S~ol, $Oftd.'on. COGI.llh," ••I.b ••ndl n CoolltomW 1'83 •••. o 13511I. 80nelMS,ndtlon, > rloro Gr" lOnd,IlInt Cool lItom(l.odtrI090M. Cool "om(llad ••) 0'75",. t-< ~:~~:o~°(il'IIIi-2 2 •••. Grt, SOMhIOFl' (fl S~ol. 120m. Cool SIGIlIIIIi 1"011I. Hard G•• , SOftlS.lon. tT1

BARKUI AREA > S~a\J undll'.t (PENCH VALLEY COAL Co Lid.) ~ 10SIII. ~r~0':1:0.:'1M '2'·Od,.••. (fl 'Cool $I_I" .'5811I Hord $Ondtl••••. eo"d,dund",n. o DATlA WEST AREA :~:r.r~~ndilOnt R.clond Bluttl.,. "Ij UO•••• S~ol, Sonchto!\o (PENCH VALLEY COAL CO.Lld) CHANDA-META AREA Cool ond S~olt bond, G••,SoflCl.,on. SondllOll' .,I~ llIift bond. (PENCH VALLEY COAL Co.Lld) ____ '·~K"".-- ~':~ S~olt bondl ~ ~O~o~Olt Sono.I""lwil~Colbonoc_.treo 615", •• om(LA) 0"011I. Z 810cti'''$ondllont ~\:.ldN~~nd'c1 S"ndllon.{So"d'IOntl co:!;::.UIlI Coolllom(JI 1'0611I. n EKlEHRA AREA S~••l, Sondllont orl I~. lop ::r: "0.. {PENCH VALLEY COAL Co.Ud.l ----Uik"'t------15K••••---_ ----2·5KIIII.--_ ~ ~ '45•. >::r: 1)0",. z

TOTAL OISTANCE 43' 5 kl'lli. Sond"""'t HOm (l,.lOd,rl 'Ia.~ .SonlhlOn, Sum(1I11 18211I. RAWANWARA AREA 'J:) 'J:) ----aM ••---_tPENCH VALLEY COAL Co~ Ltd.)

TEXT-FIG. 3 o•....•.

SKETCH MAP SHOWING THE BEHAVIOUR OF COAL SEAMS AlONG STRIKE IN THE PENCH-KANHAN VALLEY COALFIELD

N H VAlLEY COALFIELD P ENCH VALLEY COALFIELD

VERTICAL RAKHIKOL OArLA SCAl.E IN COLLIERY COLLIERY A~!AS .0UETRES >-'J •• [KLEMAA :r: R".ANWAR'" ,o~ S£AM( tr1 COLLIERY AREAS ., SIRGORA '"d ARE'" ~ .0 t-< ;» 3rt ".,., "8l., ~ Ii __ tr1 \:.• BEST• •OUALITY• • • • m~ I\ ,'8l~ "22.11 ••• '" If~''b1~ ~ ~ r.J r, ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~f~-~ ~ ~ Iin<'~"'~:,.i .__::ii:~";:::::;"'\~ :~:;;"' o Ii~~U 1'36"". U~ -. OJ 25 I o'.am, "22.~ o LE.o.OEA O,ol~'" f _ liili >-'J GOOOCL~ .. :/:'l _ • ,3.4011I _ r~O,:- ZO ~ SEAM __ iii •••• •••• .I:l ':"OA~ Q:§O • :.• " - • • ·iii •••• r.3~n'I, 1-631'1I' - 1-8lm, '-0'601'1I1 .. ••• .•.••.. 'Z •• .--• l-l8m.- .....• ~.'=lIEST 1010.111101 WHOLE AREA .. (Jl 10 >-'J

LEADER C·l~tn. _C':';'\ _lIE~ Q~LI~ 2:]Cm-:.. SEAM !~fS~QU:IT~ B[ST.£-3~.QUALITY\_ =\ ill ••• •••• • ••••• C-60m --M'--u··- I-35m •../' ~2m~ • '~5c~1 , VARIES fROM 1-1I' TO 2-14 M£TRf$

t10RIZOHfPoL SCALE Illi •••ILO ••••ETR£$

TEXT-FIG. 4 - Sketch map showing the behaviour of coal scams along strike in the Pench-Kanhan Valley Coalfield.

..•. PAREEK - GEOLOGY A1SD CORRELATIO:N OF COAL SEAMS OF PE1SCH-KA~HAN 101 valley area, has been eroded away leaving pearance. Microscopically, irregular streaks a thickness of 5·25 m. Grey shale and of carbonaceous matter, ubiquitous de• carbonaceous shale are still noticeable in trital quartz, plagioclase felspar frag• the upper portion of the existing seam, ments of oligoclase to albite composition, while good coal forms the scarp face of the and turbid aggregates and crystals of valley and represents the bottom portion kaolinite and kaolinitic material are very of the seam. The physical make-up of the commonly seen. The accessories include seam is characteristic of seam I, with which flakes of mica, bits of calcareous material it correlates. The Pench-Kanhan-Upper and specks of sideritic matter. At places Tawa valley coalfield forming a more or kaolinite occurs as irregular laths or is less continuous strip of the lower Gondwana finely dispersed in the groundmass. This formations, seams II and III, can be rock can be described as a sandy carbona• expected below seam I in this area also, ceous kaolinitic mudstone. and deep bore holes around Tandsi village Such layers of thickness varying from will reveal the nature, extent and quality 5 to 7 cm., being intercalations of black, of the seams. dark brown, grey, etc., kaolin bands directly The comparison of the petrographic pro• enlayered in coal seams have been named files of seams I, II and III, at different and described as " tonsteins" - " graupen• places of workings for the same seam made tonsteine ", which are of stratigraphical by Pareek et al. (1964) has revealed that value as persistent partings in the coal bed the megascopic varieties of coal persist and permit to identify a certain seam laterally. As a matter of fact close petro• (K. HOEHNE- Personal Communication). graphic similarity is obvious in the different Hoehne (1953) has also reported the occur• sections of the same seam at different places rence of kaolin crystals in the Gondwana of sample collection. There is, however, a coal of India. Tonstein bands have been well-marked variation in the petrographic reported from different parts of the world constituents of coal. In Seam III, the pro• (CHALARD,1952; SCHEERE,1958; WILLIAM• portion of fusinite increases with thickness SON, 1961; EDEN et al., 1963). of the seam at Rawanwara, combined with absence of sporinite. It is concluded that CONCLUSIONS these features contrast with the uniform nature, composition and thickness of the In the Pench-Kanhan-Upper Tawa valley overlying seams II and 1. Apparently uni• coalfield, the Talchir sandstones have a form conditions of deposition prevailed in more or less uniform grain size, subrounded the basin after the accumulation of the to rounded faces and exhibit well sorting. bottom layers. The Barakar sandstones show poor sorting and sub angular to angular grains, felspars TONSTEIN BAND being common and possibly derived from felspathic gneisses. The Motur sandstones A thin band of shale tending to be also show inequigranular grain size and carbonaceous shale and varying from 4 cm. exhibit poor sorting characteristics. The red to 10 cm. in thickness along the strike clays diminish westwards. These are in a way appears in the upper portion of seam I at suggestive of a marked change in the en• Rakhikol colliery. Further east, in the vironments from fluvio-glacial to fluviatile Kalichhapar, Damua, Ghorawari and Datla and lacustrine conditions of deposition. collieries, the band is seen to persist and A total of nine metres of coal occurs in grades into siltstone in the Pench valley about 120 metres of the Barakar strata; region. This lateral gradation of grey shale, seam I is the thickest and occurs 50 to 60 carbonaceous shale into eventually siltstone metres below the base of the Moturs. over a distance of 40 km., is characteristic Seams II and III are of more or less similar of this coalfield and the band forms a useful thickness. The seam characteristics are aid in seam correlation. that seam I has thinned out in the Pench The examination of the samples of valley - East Dongar Chickli and Rawan• band has indicated that when fine-grained, wara areas, and has bulged appearance it is very hard, tough and compact with towards east and west, along the strike. whitish-grey to greyish colour and the Seams II and III are thick in areas of broken surface shows typical speckled ap- seam I acquiring thinned proportions. 102 THE PALAEOBOTANIST

The coal seams of the Kanhan valley due to thermal effects of the igneous acti• region have developed caking propensities vity, when such sections are available to and this character is attributable to the visiting scientists for study. petrographic nature of the coals. Fusite The coalfield has undergone considerable (fusinite) is of quite high proportion in the faulting during the post-Cretaceous period. Pench valley region, and accounts for the That a dolerite dyke traverses a fault zone non coking character of the coals, while in the Ghorawari area is indicative of fault• vitrite and c1arite appearing in increased ing being prevalent during pre-Deccan Trap proportions with diminished amounts of intrusion period also. Step faulting is very the fusite have imparted caking tendencies common and most of the faults are strike to the coals of the Kanhan valley. faults with southwardly downthrow in most Igneous activity is represented by thick of the cases and marked by silicification in lava flows as the Deccan Trap. Dolerite the sedimentaries. It is not unlikely that dykes profusely intrude the area and' re• faulting in the area was connected with present the channels of lava extrusion. stresses in the Peninsular shield. The diffe• In the area south of Rakhikol, the Talchirs rent areas preserved due to faulting have are intruded by a dolerite dyke showing faults parallel to the southern boundary spheroidal weathering, which is microscopi• fault. Thus further faulting trended p':J.ral• cally similar to coronites, observed by the leI to the main boundary fault and sliced the author in the dykes intruding the meta• coal-bearing strips into segregated areas. morphics of the Jharia coalfield in parts of Dhanbad and Purulia districts. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Pench valley region has a maximum covering of the Barakars by the lava flows. The author wishes to express his grati• This is suggestive of the easterly source of tude to Mr. C. Slater, Surveyor, Shaw the Deccan Trap. Their thick capping Walace & Co. Ltd., Parasia, for the helpful (thickness not known) over the Barakars discussions, and to the authorities of Rakhi• has rendered working of these seams im• kol, Ghorawari-Kalan, Ghorawari-Hirday• possible economically. It is, however, of garh, Datla, Eklehra, Chandameta and significance also to evaluat~ the rank Rawanwara collieries for making available transformations of the underlying seams the mine and bore hole data for study.

REFERENCES

BLANFORD,W. T. (1882). Coalfield in Idem (1966). The nature of coal from Tandsi . Central Provinces. Rec. seam. Upper Tawa Valley Coalfield. Madhya geol. Surv. India. 15 (2) : 121. Pradesh. Ind. Mins.20 (2): 165-172. CHALARD. J. (1952). Tonstein du Bassin houiller Idem (1968). On the Nature of Claystone. Talchir du Nord de la France. C.R. Congo Strat. Geol. Stage, Kanhan Valley Coalfield, M.P. Rec. Carbonij.. Maastricht. 1951. 1: 73-77. geol. Surv. India. 98 (2). (In press). EDEN. R. A.• ELLIOT. R. "V.• ELLIOT. R. E. & Idem (1969a). Some Observations on the lithology YOUNG. B. R. (1963). Tonstein bands in the of coal-bearing beds and the nature of coal of the coalfields of the East Midlands. Geol. Mag. major Gondwana basins of India. Proc. Simp. 100 (1): 47-58. into Estratig. Palaeont. Gond .• Argentina, 1967: Fox. C. S. (1934). The Lower Gondwana Coalfields 788-805. of India. Mem. geol. Surv. India. 59: 243. Idem (1969b). On a new species of petrified wood, GHOSH. P. K. (1962). Recurrence of glaciation in Dadoxylon ghorawariense, from the Kanhan the Talchir Series. North Karanpura Coalfield, Valley Coalfield, District Chhindwara, M.P .• Bihar. Rec. geol. Surv. India. 87 (4): 751-756. India. J. Sen Mem. Vol. (In Press). HOEHNE. K. (1953). Kaolinkristalle und Quartz PAREEK. H. S., SANYAL.S. P. & CHAKRABARTY,N. C. en bildungen in Indischen Steinkohlen. Chemie (1964). Petrographic Studies of the Coal seams Erde.16: 211-222. in the Pench-Kanhan Coalfields. India. XXII JONES. E. J. (1887). The southern coalfields of into geol. Congo Part IX. Gondwanas. 1-16. Satpura Gondwana Basin. Mem. geol. Surv. SCHEERE. J. (1958). La Petrologie des Tonstein India. 24 (1): 1-58. du Houiller BeIge. Bull. Soc. belge Geol. 66: PAREEK. H. S. (1965). On the Karharbari age of 300-316. coal-measures of Ray-Bachra area. North WILLIAMSON,!. A. (1961). Tonsteins: A possible Karanpura Coalfield. Palaeobotanist. 14 (1-3): additional aid to coalfield correlation. Mining 73-78. Mag. 104: 9-14.

~/Og2.