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QE AVS “A
MEMOIRS
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF
INDIA. VOL XIU, Pr. 1.
HuauHes: WarpHa VALLEY CoAL-FIELD.
The Records of the Geological Survey of India will be issued at intervals of about three months, and forwarded to subscribers—
s. @ rs. @ Subscription for the year... eee «. 4 0 or 2 0 Price of each Number oes vee ww 2 0 or 1 0 Postage, if for India, 4 annas additional. ” Great Britain, 8 annas, or ls. per annum.
ADDRESS— Superintendent of Geological Survey of India, Geological Survey Office, Indian Museum, CaLcurra.
The ‘ Records’ for 1868 (1st year) containing 3 Numbers, can be had stitched in paper cover.—Price 1 Re.8 As. — . The ‘ Records’ for 1869 (2nd year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Re. The ‘ Records’ for 1870 (8rd year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1871 (4th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.— Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1872 (5th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1873 (6th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. Tho ‘ Records’ for 1874 (7th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs.
The ‘ Records’ for 1875 (8th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1876 (9th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs.
Notice.
A Number of tho ‘Records’ will be issued in the months of February, May, August and November in each year. Each Number will contain the additions to Library and Donations to Museum up to the first of the next preceding month, that is, to the end of March, June, September and December.
MEMOIRS
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF
INDIA.
The Records of the Geological Survey of India will be issued at intervals of about three months, and forwarded to subscribers—
Subscription for the year Price of each Number one ee oe Postage, if for India, 4 annas additional.
” Great Britain, 8 annas, or ls. per annum.
ef eee oes eee 4 2
ADDEESS— Superintendent of Geological Survey of India, Geological Survey Office, Indian Museum, CaLcurta.
The ‘ Records’ for 1868 (1st. year) containing 3 Numbers, can be had stitched in paper cover.—Price 1 Re.8 As. . The ‘ Records’ for 1869 (2nd year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.— Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1870 (3rd year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1871 (4th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1872 (5th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Re. The ‘ Records’ for 1873 (6th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Re. The ‘ Records’ for 1874 (7th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The ‘ Records’ for 1875 (8th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs. The * Records’ for 1876 (9th year) containing 4 Numbers, stitched.—Price 2 Rs.
Notice.
A Number of the ‘Records’ will be issued in the months of February, May, August and November in each year. Each Number will contain the additions to Library and Donations to Museum up to the first of the next preceding month, that is, to the end of March, June, September and December.
MEMOIRS
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OF
INDIA.
MEMOIRS
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Ea ae
” — ATH B TSH INDIA.
VOL. XIII.
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF HIS EXCELLENOY THE GOVERNOR GENBRAL OF INDIA Iw OCOUNOIL.
CALCUTTA:
PRINTED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. SOLD AT THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OFFICE, OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, LONDON: TBUBNEE & CO,
MDCQOCLXZXVII.
OALOUTTA : OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING. 1877.
CONTENTS.
Art. 1.—Tae Warpua VALiry CoaL-FIELD, dy THEoporE W. H. HuauHks, a.B.8.M., F.G.8., Geological Survey of India.
CHAPTER I. GENERAL REMARKS. PAGE. Section I.—Previous Observers . . . : . . ; 1 » I1.—Physical Description . . . © ~ . . 3 » III.—Geological Formations . . : ‘ oe 8
CHAPTER II.
DIstRIBUTION OF Rocks. Section IV.—Metamorphic ee - . Ail
» V.—Vindhyan . 2 ee . . . or 9» VI.—Talchir . - 2 6 © eh heh eC » VII.—Barfkar 2 . . oe . 18
Chanda District . . 2 . . . 21
Wain » . . . : . . . 38
Nizam’s Dominions ‘ . . . . . 54 » VIII.—KA4mthi oe . : . 7 . : 66 ” IX.—K6t4-Maléri . . . : : . . . . 81 9 X.—Laméta . ° . . . ~ . . 87 ” XI.—Trap . . . 91
oy XII.—Laterite, Superficial deposits. . . . « .~ @.
CHAPTER III. IDENTIFICATION AND RELATION OF THE Rocx Grovps.
CHAPTER IV. Economic. Section XIII.—Coal . . ; . . . . ° . 97
» XIV.—Iron ores . ° . : ook : - 109
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE. Section XV.—Limestone . . . : : : . ‘ » (112 » XVI.—Manganese . . . 2 . . . . 114 » <XAXVII.—Fireclay .. - 8 ee . - .« $6, » XVITII.—Building stones . . . - - » $6,
CHAPTER V. APPENDICES. Section XIX.—Boring sections . . . . ‘ . - 116 » XX.—List of authors referred to . . . . - 14 » XXI.—Experimental Iron manufacture at Warora . . - IAL 5 &XII.—Note on the Bandar coal-field . . . . : - 14
Geological Map of the Wardha Valley Coal-field, (Chanda and Sasti Areas.) Seale 1 mile = 1 inch. Geological Map of the Wardha Valley Coal-field, (Warora and Wan Areas.) Scal 1 mile = 1 inch. Geological Map of the Wardha Valley Coal-field and Bandar Coal-field. Scale 4 miles = 1 inch.
Art. 2.—GEroLocy oF THE RasmEHAL Hits, dy V. Batt, M.a., ¥.G.8., Geological Survey of India.
PAGE
CHarrEr I.—Introduction. . . . . . . . . . 1 - II.—Previous observers . . . . . . . . 6 » 11I.—General Geology . . . . . . . . . 16 » I1V.—Metamorphic Rocks . . . . . . . . 19 ” V.—Talchir Group. . . . . ‘ . . . 21 » WI.—Barakar Group : 25
» VWII.—Dubrajpur Group . . . . . . - 44 »» WIII.—Rajmehal Group. 2 . . . . - 66 » iX.—Iaterite . . : . e . . . . . 68 - X.—Alluvium . : . . . . . . . . 70 » AL.—Faults . . . . . : . . . . 71 »» &1I.—Economic Resources . ‘ . . - . ‘ 72
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Pratgz I.—Circular view from the summit of Ranipahar near
Masunia_ . 2 ee . . . Frontispiece. » 11.—View from Mohrasol looking west and north-west . fo face page » 1II.—View from Soorujbera Bungalow . - . - 9 8 » 1V.—Radiating columnar basalt . . . . ~ os ps » V.—Iron-workers at Deocha (smelting) . 2 8 9g gy » Wi.—TIron-workers at Deocha (1st and 2nd stages of refining) . . : . . . . ols The above lithographs were drawn many years ago from sketches by Dr. Oldham. MAPS. Map of the Brahmini Coal-field. . . . «. +. ~ ~« to face page Map of the Puchwara Coal-field ee Map of the Chuperbhita Coal-field . : . . . - os
Map of the Hura Coal-field rr oon General Geological Map of the Rajmehal Hills.
3
33 36
MEMOIRS
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
OFr
INDIA.
MEMOIRS
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY areart Te
>
INDIA:
VOL, XIII, Pr, 1.
PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF HIS EXCELLENOY THE GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA IN COUNCIL.
CALCUTTA:
PRINTED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. SOLD AT THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OFFICE, OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING, AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS, LONDON: TRUBNER & CO,
MDCOCLXXVITI.
CALOUTTA : OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF GOVERNMENT PRINTING. 1877.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL REMARKS.
Section I.—Previous Observers
II.—Physical Description . . . . III.—Geological Formations
CHAPTER II.
DIstTRIBUTION OF Rocks.
V.—Vindbyan . . . . . VI.—Talchfr ‘ . e . . . e . Vil.—Barfkar . . . . . : . ‘ Chanda District Wén ” e Nizam’s Dominions .
VIII.—Kamthi . . . 8 ele IX.—K6té-Maléri . . . 8 X.—Laméta ; . XI.—Trap . . . .
XII.—Laterite, Superficial deposits .
CHAPTER III.
IDENTIFICATION AND RELATION OF THE Rock Grovps.
PAGE.
vi CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV. EcoNnoMIc.
Section XITI.—Ooal . .. ‘ _ .s » XIV.—Iron ores. : ° . . : . . » XV.—Limestone . . . : . . : . » MVI.—Manganese . . . «© «© «© -« » XX&VIJ.—Fireclay . : . . . . ~ oe » &VITII.—Building stones . . : . ° . ‘ °
CHAPTER V.
APPENDICES,
Section XIX.—Boring sections . . . . . oe .
» XX.—List of authors referred to. . . » X&XI.—Experimental Iron manufacture at Warora »» X&XKXIT.—Note on the Bandar coal-field .
116 140 141 145
MEMOIRS
OF THE
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA.
~ ‘Tas Warpua Vatiey Coat-rietp, dy Tozopore W. H. Huauzs, . ey Oe) ee en ae ~s
ERRATUM.
Page 27, line.15, for 8° read 43°.
ours \usews waweusiun OF Water, Whiet amounted to 7°S per cent.) :—
Carbon ode ene ore ooo ove 43'8 Volatile matter ove ees ves tee 33°7 Ash .— w. vee ose eee wee 22°65
Tora .. 1000
Specific gravity, 1'457. As there was no incentive in those days to work this coal, the announcement of its existence was accepted as a fact, and then appears to have been forgotten.
* Gleanings in Science, 1891, Vol. III, pp. 281-288.
Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, Vol. XIII, Art. 1.
»
g HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
Mr. Hislop, to whom so much is due for his pioneer labours in the Central Provinces, was the first who accumulated a connected series of geological facts of the Wardha valley. A list of his papers, which commenced in 1854 and were contributed chiefly to the quarterly journal of the Geological Society of London, will be found in the appendix.
Hislop.
On some points the researches of the Survey have led to conclusions different to those of Hislop, but the correctness of his identification of the red clays of Pisdtira* as Lamétas (Infra trappean) has been establish- ed. What calls for the highest tribute of recognition is the success of his paleontological explorations. Aided by an extremely intelligent native collector whom he had trained to the work, he exhumed the remains of mammals, reptiles, fish, insects, molluscs and plante, which formed the ground work in shaping the relations of the different rock groups in which they were discovered.
Mr. Fedden and myself have each met with moderate fortune in our endeavours to follow in Hislop’s footsteps, but our success is in great measure due to the circumstance of his having pointed the way to where the fossils occurred.
Passing over the notices that appeared in Local Gazettes and Ad- ministration reports, the only contributors to the special literature of the Wardha valley are: Mr. Blanford, Dr. Oldham, and Mr, Fedden in the order mentioned.
Mr. Blanford in 1867, in accordance with a requisition for the services of an officer of the Geological Survey made by the Government of the : Central Provinces (to whose notice the occurrence of coal in the Wardha had then recently been brought by Captain Lucie-Smith, the Deputy Commissioner of Chénda), spent a few days examining the different outcrops pointed out to him.
Blanford, 1867.
* Spelt Phizdar& by Hislop. ( 2)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION. 3
Owing to the weathered character of the coal at the surface, and the obscurity of most of the sections, he was not able to pronounce a very decided opinion upon either the size or quality of the seams that he saw, but he anticipated that the coal at Ballérpiir would yield fairly useful fuel for all purposes,—an opinion which has since been confirmed. He strongly urged that a closer survey than he had the opportunity of carrying out should be made, and recommended that, owing to the fact of the rocks being greatly concealed by superficial accumulations, borings should be resorted to, to prove the commercial value of the field.
Dr. Oldham’s notices appeared at intervals in the records of the Geological Survey between 1869 and 1871. He gave the most recent information obtained from the borings commenced under his superintendence, and he sketched the outline of the general conclusions that the survey had arrived at.
Borings recommended.
Oldham, 1869.
Mr. Fedden’s paper refers to the discovery by himself of evidence bearing out the hypothesis of ice-action proposed Fedden, 1876 . many years ago by Mr. Blanford to explain the mode of accumulation of the boulder bed of the T4lchir period.
Sgcrion I].—Puysroat Dgsorrrtion.
The Wardha coal field, as limited by an arbitrary line to the south and by its natural geological boundaries square miles. field 1,600 i, the east, west, and north, covers an area of about 1,600 square miles. It occupies the valley “of the river Wardha, throughout, a length of one hundred miles, and is included between Latitudes 19° 28’ and 20° 27’, N. Longitudes 78° 50’ and 79° 46’ E. Its most northerly point is only Latitude and Longi- 146 miles from the famous cotton mart of Hin- ganghft, and it extends southward to the third
barrier of the Godévari navigation scheme.
( 8).
4 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
In mapping part of the area, I received much aasistance from my colleague Mr. Fedden, and on two occasions I had the advantage of ac-- companying Dr. Oldham over portions of the ground. I have also had the benefit of Mr. Blanford’s suggestions.
The country, as a rule, except in the south, is open for some miles on both sides of the river, with wide-spread deposits of alluvium, sands, and gravels, broken only by a few isolated hills of moderate height, like Dongargaon, Winjasan, Balér, Yenak, &c. Bordering the field, the scarps of the trappean rocks rise into view. And Hills, . the semiquartzites and sandstones of the Vindhyan series form conspicuous ranges of hills and massive table-lands. The most extensive of these is the one in almost immediate contiguity to the north-eastern extremity of the field, containing the large mass of water called Lake Téroba, which is supposed to produce a fecundating effect upon sterile women, and restore health to the sick.
Towards the south the country becomes much more hilly, and abrupt in its contrasts of physical contour. The upper series of rocks associated with the coal measures no longer worn into low land, rise Antargaon range. high above the level of the Wardha, and at Antar-
. gaon form a commanding range which comes down nearly to the edge of the river. The D&bha hills occupy a large area of ground, and there are many points of view of considerable at- traction. The Témta spur, which borders the left bank of the Wamim- pali nala, formed of distinctly bedded, and strongly colored sandstones, at once catches the eye, and its bold outlines render it a prominent
feature in the scenery. These hills give shelter to one of the few herds of “Gaur” now left in the Ch&nda district, but they are followed up and shot down year after year by European sportsmen and native shikéris, and in another decade
Débha hills.
there will probably be no representatives of that splendid wild animal
within many miles of the Wardha in British territory, ( 4 )
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION. 5
The forest lands of the Wardha and Pranvhita valleys are too well. known to require a special description. The principal preserves are on. the eastern and southern portion of the Ch&nda district, beyond the area of the coal, embracing the Pandb4ras and Ahiri forests. The majority of the trees in the Bhandak, Moharli, Jog4pur and Dabha forests are small, and a system of conservation must be carried out for some time before they acquire proper proportions.
Forests.
There are extensive tracts of bamboo jungle along the Andéri and [rai valleys, and at the foot of the hills west of Wirtr and Antargaon in the Nizam’s dominions. In the Wan district there are no bamboo jungles within the limits of the coal field :
Bamboo jungle.
There is everywhere an extraordinary luxuriance of coarse grass, and it is impossible throughout many miles of country for a geologist to work properly until the spring fires assist him by burning it down. The most excessive growth occurs
Grass.
on the trappean plateaus, and in many instances the grass stands high above one’s head.
The soil on both sides of the Wardha near the river is a rich black loam, capable of supporting very heavy crops of
Boll | jaw&ri” and cotton. Elsewhere, it is more sandy and especially so over the large area coverd by the rocks of the Kaémthi
group in the Chénda district.
The main drainage is effected by the Wardha, which when in flood has an average breadth of quite 200 yards, and is
Drainage, many feet in depth; but throughout the cold and hot seasons, the water diminishes to such an extent that only a light- draught canoe can float over the shallows and rapids that constitute a
large proportion of the river’s way. In a few places there are deep pools ( 5 )
6 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
and reaches; and opposite Télwdsa, Ghiigis and Ballérpir, the banks are moderately high.
Between Suét and Koséra, about six miles before the Wardha passes into the coal field, a waterfall occurs, which, although it does not come within the strict com- pass of this report to describe, deserves mentioning, as being an interesting feature in the scenery of the river. Just above the fall the river bed widens to about 150 or 200 yards, with a shallow rocky channel of lime- stone. The actual drop is small, not being more than 15 to 16 feet in the dry season, so that the element of grandeur is entirely wanting, but the mere noise of the cascade, and the water, snowy white with foam, jost- ling through the gorge at the bottom of the falls, constitute an attraction which helps to while away a leisure hour.
SGét waterfall.
The tributaries of the Wardha are all much inferior to it in size except the Pém Ganga, which forms the
southern boundary of the Berars or Assigned Districts of Haidar&béd. It only flows for five miles through the field and exposes no seams of coal, but it is vested with great interest, as having given a local name to the sub-divisionsof the Vindhyan series and yielded the section that afforded evidence of ground ice in India
Pém Ganga.
during the Tflchir period.
The next stream of most consequence is the [rai, which takes its rise in the trap hills near the coal field of Bandar, Trai and skirting the table-land in which lake Téroba rests, cuts through the sedimentary rocks of the field near Sité- rémpét. It exposes K&mthis and Talchirs in its course, and run- ning past the walls of the town of Chénda, joins the Wardha on the left
bank, a little to the east of Harasti. None of the other tributaries, whether considered merely in reference to size, or as serving to interpret the geological structure of the field,
are important enough to call for a special reference. ( 6 )
PHYSICAL DRSCRIPTION. 7
‘ There are a few large tanks, such as those of Warora, Waigaon, Tanks. Khairgaon, Win, and Chanda.
The rainfall is very irregularly distributed, and in the monsoon it is s common occurrence to have a most violent Rainfall downpour confined to a narrow zone of country. The irregularity is connected with the configuration of the country, the neighbourhood of the hill ranges and plateau being subject to a comparatively larger annual fall than the open tracts. The village of Pisgaon, situated at the mouth of a small bayin the trappean scarp, is noted for its special falls, and though only 13 miles south-west of Waro- ra, the coming of the monsoon is heralded much earlier, and the rains are sustained with much more violence, and with fewer interruptions, than at the latter place, which is surrounded by a wide open plain. I am able to quote from four administration reports of the Central Provinces the registers of rainfall at four of the principal towns in the Chanda district for the years 1868-69-70 and 73— 1868, 1869. 1870. 1873,
Wérork ~ 86°54 35°9 4365 88-0 Chénda - 86:69 4648 6963 938-71 Moh! ss 86:36 81°99 6205 81°6 Barhampuri. ... 47°02 41:22 52°35 45°41
Probably these figures are not entirely to be depended upon, but they show that Waérorf has a scantier rainfall than any of the other towns that are in closer proximity to elevated lands and jungle.
Three distinct nationalities meet on the banks of the Wardha, the Gond, the Mahérétta and the Telfigi. They Tababitanta. seem adverse to taking up the occupation of a collier, but I believe that the incentive of high wages might tempt the low caste Dhérs and Gonds to work underground steadily. It will be necessary, however, to treat the first venturers judiciously. The Dhérs, or Mahfrs as they call themselves, are very numer-
ous and widely spread ; they form the chief thread-
( 7)
Dhérs.
§ HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
spinners and weavers of coarse cloth in the country, and they furnish most of the ‘kotwals’ for the village. They are poor-spirited and tract- able as yet, and consequently present plastic material for shaping into miners.
The Gonds are somewhat more independent and less pliant, but
Gonds. they are physically better adapted for severe labor.
Section III.—Gzrotoarcat Formations. Classifying the surface soils and rocks of the Wardha valley in de- seending order, we have— Recent deposits. - Laterite. . Trappean series.
aa
. Laméta, or infra-trappean group. - Kéta-Maleéri group. . Kémthi group.
- Bardékar group.
. Télchir group.
_-
Géndwéna series.
oon ona Pf w w
. Vindhyan series. - Metamorphic series.
p= —]
In this list, the old and familiar title of Damtida, as a serial denomi- nation, does not occur. The term Daméda series,
The term Damida. it will be remembered, embraced the Bardkar, the Ironstone shales, and the Ranigayj groups, and it assisted to mark off collec- tively the rocks in which the oldest coal measures occurred in the Damtida valley. More recent researches of geologists and paleontologists have, however, shewn modifications in the lithological and petrological charac- ters of these groups as they were traced beyond the area in which they were first determined. The less well-defined lines of demarcation between them, and the closer relationship that their fossil remains
( 8 )
GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 9
exhibited to the underlying and overlying strata than was formerly suspected, have made it more convenient to use only group-names in comparing the succession of deposits in the separate basins. But, though thus set aside for tabular purposes in this Memoir, the term Damiida will still be borne on the strength of our vocabulary, when reference is made to the published accounts of those localities in which the word is used.
The same considerations suggested the employment of a single name to embrace the entire succession of deposits ordinarily included under the designation of the great plant-bearing series. The term proposed in 1872 and adopted is that of Géndwana. The
The term Géndwfna. . . . . following table gives a general view of the divi- sions and sub-divisions of this series in the several regions in which it
has been examined :—
Upper Géndwana.
R4&jmehéil, Dabréjpur. Bandagarh ? | M&hadéva.
The Kéta-Maléri group is here introduced, for the first time, into
a connected classification as a member of the Upper Gondwana series. It has been brought to
( 9 )
Kéta-Maléri group.
10 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
notice in several papers published in the quarterly journal of the Geolo-
gical Society of London, and also in our own Memoirs, in connection with the description of fossil remains obtained from the two localities which have been used to designate the group; but until the extension of the labours of the survey into the Wardha and Gédavari valleys, the stra- tigraphical relations of the beds in which these fossils were found were not precisely known. They overlie the Kémthi group.
The Trappean series, the Vindhyans, and the Metamorphie rocks, are only briefly noticed in these pages, as they are but feebly represented within the limits of the field. The Gdéndwéna series is alluded to in detail, and yields the more important material for discussion.
( 10 )
CHAPTER II. DISTRIBUTION OF ROCKS. Secrion IV.—Metamorpraic SEries.
Metamorphic rocks occur nowhere within the field, but they form the contact series along the eastern boundary, from Pohi to Mobarli, and from Mahédwéri onward to the south. The third barrier in the Godévari navigation scheme, which commences at Khirmiri on the Wardha, is due to their exposure in the river ‘bed.
The valuable deposits of iron ore, which exist in the Chanda district, occur in these rocks,
Section V.—VinpHYAN SERIEs.
Next in ascending order, and resting unconformably upon the metamorphics, are the Vindhyans. They consist of sandstones and semi- quartzites, shales and limestones, and occur in this order, the shales being also intercalated with the limstones.
They came but slightly under my observation, and I am not able to speak authoritatively as to the exact geological horizon they ought to occupy; but they are supposed to represent the lower division of the series which has been traced through Raipur and the upper courses of the Mahénadi into close proximity with them.
It is not quite clear whether all the sandstones of this area which are included under the head of Vindyans ought to be classed with the lime- stones and shales as constituting a connected series, or whether they ought not to be elevated to the dignity of a separate and, perhaps, younger for- mation ; and until they are more closely examined, the doubt cannot be set at rest. A noticeable feature is the peculiarity of their distribution, the limestones and shales being confined almost entirely to the west or right side of the Wardha, and being seldom seen in contact with the
( ll )
12 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
sandstones, while the latter occur only in slight force on that side, and occupy a large area on the east or opposite side.
Sandstone group.~-The most pronounced rocks are the fine-grained, vitreous sandstones, with a uniform tinge or dashes of red through them ; the brownish sandstones and the purplish shales and quartzites more or less coarse. The most difficult to place are the sandstones, which are open in texture or highly ferruginous, They might easily be mistaken for Kémthie.
There are no outcrops of this group within the field, but they are well seen in the remarkable and isolated mass of Pirzégarh, and in the table- land of Téroba.
They also form the western front of Malfgarh hill of the Wiin district, which is for the most part constituted of Kamthi sandstones, As there is here no physical break between the strata of the two groups, a doubt may arise regarding the correctness of a separation ; but I think the greater degree of disturbance in the rocks that I define as Vindhyans (a disturbance corresponding with that of the Vindbyan limestones with which they are in contact), the greater metamorphism of the sandstones, and the existence of beds which are not seen in the KA4mthi group, are in favour of dissociation such as I have indicated on the map. Bearing on this question, there is an in- structive little section in a small island in the Pém Ganga, opposite Chikli, where the stratigraphical features of Mal4garh hill are repeated, buat on a minor scale, and here the decision of my colleague, Mr. King, who at my request examined the section, was “ that the quartzites (Vindhyan) are easily distinguished from the true sandstones (Géndwina).”
The continuation of Malégarh hill to the south is broken by the valley of the Séwéra nala, but beyond that river the sandstones again rise and constitute Yenak hill, whose greatest elevation is 1,005 feet above the level of the sea.
( 12 )
Maligarh hill.
Yenak hill.
VINDHYAN SERIES. 18
By looking at the map, it will be seen that there are several lines of disturbance, and that the sandstones are divided by a band of limestone into two branches. The western branch’ sweeps round by Sindola and terminates at Kirli. The rocks are considerably indurated, and assume a quartzite character near the outer boundary ; and near Sindola they are much jointed. Towards Paramdéo they form a high scarp. Several bands of conglomerate occur, containing pebbles of hematite, from which the iron formerly made at Yenak was obtained. One of these bands is 9 feet broad in places. Where the road from Yenak to Sindola crosses a low portion of the hill, some of these conglomerates have been worn down, and a more recent laterite bed of considerable extent formed of the debris.
Vindhyan sandstones appear also in Sidéshwar hill, 8 miles south of Rajir, in the Nizam’s dominions. The upper beds
Sidéshwar hill. . consist of hard, coarse grits and sandstones, very _ conglomeratic in places; the lower are generally much finer in texture, and often highly vitreous. They are all more or less colored by
iron.
Shale group.—This group is made of earthy shales, and occasional beds of flaggy limestones. They are very fine-grained; DongerEnoe with ‘scomewhat nodular structure, and much joint- ed. When they weather they split up, like the Télchir shales, into small, thin, discoidal fragments, and an isolated outcrop of them might readily be mistaken for that series. Their usual color is some shade of red. In the northern part of the field they appear near the village of Dongargaon, about 74 miles from Warora. A considerable amount of crushing has taken place in the neighbourhood, and the character of the shales is al- tered, the disturbance having rendered them very hard and compact. The Wardha Valley State railway crosses the Dongargaon river exactly opposite to the village, and the shales afford an excellent foundation for
the piers of the bridge. ( 18 )
14 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
At Déolwara, Winjhdésan, Chirédévi, and Télw4sa inliers occur, and they are well seen on the banks of the Wardha, south of Pipri. Red shales are the predominant rocks,
Limestone group.—As its designation implies, the rocks of this group are more or less calcareous, and in many instances contain a sufficiently high percentage of carbonate of lime to form a very efficient flux in the treatment of iron ores. Occasional layers of ribbon jasper are met with, and lenticular segregations of chert, but not in such abundance as in the limestones of the ixéer and tnfra trappean series.
They are usually thinly bedded, and of a pale or dark-grey or buff color seldom red, like their agsociates—the shales. They
cz Mandéra limestone occur in two places within the field, one at Kan- déra, 6 miles north of Warora, and the other near
Belsini. From the first of these localities it is proposed to quarry the limestone, if the project of establishing blast furnaces for the production
of iron at Warora be carried into execution.
A large tract of these rocks borders the western boundary of the field, and magnificent sections of them are exposed in the Pém Ganga and some,of the small streams running into it.
I have made no attempt to estimate even the approximate thickness of the limestones, as the sections that came under my special observation were imperfect, but there is a considerable thickness of them.
No trace of organic remains has been found in any of the groups, though the physical conditions under which they
No organic remains. . ; j were accumulated, judging from the evidence which their representatives elsewhere afford, appear to have been favour- able to life. There is nothing either to suggest the chance of subsequent ‘obliteration of organic remains, had they ever been imbedded and become
fossilised.
{ 4 )
TALCHIRS. 15
Section VI.—TA oni.
Resting upon, but separated by a wide gap in time from the Vindhyans comes the TA4lchir formation, the lowest group in the Géndwana series, and immediately underlying the coal measures.
It occupies an area a little over 250 square miles in extent, of which 8 square miles lie on the Berar side of the Wardha river, 76 in the Nizam’s dominions, and the rest in the Chanda district.
They are well seen on the banks of the Wardha near Chfnddr, and the
Tdlchirs well seen near tYata are of the usual type, the highest beds being Chéndér. fine buff sandstone, often with a greenish tinge, and a tendency to weather into rounded forms and to break into poly- gonal fragments. Beneath are the typical greenish-grey silty shales and sandstones, and below them the well-known boulder bed.
The most extensive and unbroken area of TAlchirs lies between" the river Wardha and the town of Chanda; it may be taken roughly as the middle of the field,—a tract devoid of coal, but around which coal occurs.
On the western side of this central area the contact of the Barékars
Kémthis resting direct- (Coal measures) is exposed, but on the eastern side, ly on Télchirs. from Bhéndak to Chénda, it is not seen, owing to the KAmthis overlapping the Bard&kars and resting directly on the Talchirs. The extent of this overlap has not been determined, but it is probable that a considerable horizontal allowance will have to be made, if search for coal is instituted in that direction, especially as T4lchirs appear in the low ground near Walwat, favouring the view that they underlie the zone between that village and the central area at a small depth below the surface.
At Bh&ndak the shallowness at which they occur was proved in a boring put down through the Kémthis, which struck green silt-shales at about 30 feet.
On the Berar side of the Wardha a thin strip of Télchirs occurs, stretching from Karamna, 4 miles north-north-east of Win, to P&ndar-
( 1b ))
16 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
“
kaura, in the neighbourhood of Pisgaon; and a very restricted area is exposed in the vicinity of Chikli-Tékli.
In the Nizam’s dominions the T4lchirs occupy the greater portion of the ground from the Pém Ganga to Gaori and Sésti. Here they dip under the coal measures and K4mthis, but appear again further to the south, along the edge of the field, and extend as far as Antargaon, where they are finally lost sight of.
The Télchirs are easily recognizable throughout ; their mineral features and mode of weathering being quite in accord with their aspect and behaviour in other parts of India. Having said this, it will be unnecessary to enter into lithological details, as the memoirs of the Survey already published contain several notices of these rocks. I have, however, to allude toa very interesting discovery of flexible sandstone made by Mr. Fedden in two localities during his examin- ation of that portion of the field in the Nizam’s dominions lying south of the Pém Ganga. He first observed it amongst the sandstones east of Chérli, then again in the Khairgaon nala west of Naéndgaon. He de- scribes the bed as a “highly felspathic, open sandstone, softish, crumbling under the finger, and of a white, grey, or reddish colour.” The well-known flexible sandstone of India comes from Kalifna, 5 miles west of Dédri, a town in the Jhind State, 60 miles nearly due west of Dehli. It ia only found in patches, in a band of millstone quartzite, belonging to the Arvali series, and its peculiar property is supposed by Professor Haughton to be due to the particles of sandstone which occur in the
Fiexible sandstone.
rock, not being in contact with one another, but lying in a paste of fels- pathic clay, which paste permits a certain amount of motion between the particles of the mass.*
In addition to the discovery of flexible sandstone, Mr. Fedden had
the good fortune to find the missing link of evi- Evidence of ice-action. ; dence that was required to prove the agency of
© Records, Geological Survey of India, 1874, Vol. VII, Part I, page 30. ( 16 )
TALCHIRS. 17
ice in the formation of the boulder bed of the Télchir series, and thus confirmed Mr. Blanford’s original supposition (which was published in 1856 * in the Memoir on the Télchir Coal-field)’ that the boulders had been transported by ground-ice.
When this hypothesis was suggested, no direct testimony, such as grooved and polished boulders or scored rock-surfaces, had been obtained in confirmation of the general evidence, on the strength of which Mr. Blanford had been led to infer the former existence of glacial conditions. His theory, therefore, although affording an apparently satisfactory solu- tion of the observed facts, was still not altogether beyond the limits of discussion ; and after subsequent investigations in the Réniganj field and other localities had failed to elicit the required corroborative evidence, attempte were made to explain the formation of the boulder bed without resort to the somewhat startling supposition of icy masses in a tropical country.
Mr. Fedden has, however, now removed all doubt, and shewn in his paper ‘On the evidence of ground-ice in tropical India during the Télchir period,” contributed to the Records, that Mr. Blanford’s original view was the right one. The observations confirming this were made near the little village of Irai, on the right bank of the Pém River, not quite a mile above its confluence with the Wardha, and 10 miles west-south-west of Chénda. A boulder bed, containing some beautifully-polished and scored boulders, rests upon a floor of compact Vindhyan limestones, which, when freshly exposed, is found to be striated and grooved in long parallel lines in the manner so familiar to glacialists. Some of the stris are concealed by a thin crust of calcareous matter which has been deposited subsequent to the removal of the boulder bed, but it can beeasily chipped off. It helps to preserve the scorings, which appear to be soon obliterated if. without this covering. The surface features of the neighbourhood do not
offer any support to the view that a glacier ever reached the spot under
# Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, Vol. I.
( 17 )
18 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
notice, as for many miles round there is nocommanding elevation of rock older than the Télchirs from which an ice-stream could have descended ; and as the boulder bed iteelf presents characters quite unhke the ordinary moraine deposits of glaciers, one being its frequently well-marked lamina- tion, the circumstances of the case lead to the supposition of ground-ice as the agent by which the boulders were transported.*
In the immediate vicinity of Irai the boulders are for the most part small, a few attaining a major diameter of 2 to 24 feet. Three specimens are now In our museum, and they illustrate admirably the effect that the sort of attrition they have undergone produces. The finest of them is of hard, dense, close- grained syenitic granite, of which one side is polished and scored, and the opposite one free from marks. The stris ran parallel with the major axis of the boulder.
In this field no record of any organism has been obtained from the Tal-
Boulders-in museum.
No Fauna or Flore. chirs. Elsewhere, however, fronds of Gangamopteris and seed vessels have from time to time been found ;
and lately, my colleague, Dr. Feistmantel, by a happy blow of his ham- mer on a cabinet specimen of TAlchir shale,t diselosed the wing of a neuropterous insect, that now has the distinction of being the earliest
animal remain known in the GéndwaAna series.
Szorion VII.—Barakxar Group.
In Bengal, where the eoal-bearing rocks are most fully developed, they are classed as upper and lower coal-meagures, a series of ironstone shales separating them thus :—
1. R&niganj group, or upper eoal-measures. 2. Ironstone shales group. 3. Barakar group, or lower coal-measures,
* See Fedden’s paper for a fuller exposition. Records, Geological Survey of India, 1875, Vol. VITI, Part 1, page 16.
+ The rock sample is labelled as coming from “ Kumar, pergunnah Saruth-Deoghar, Bhirbhém.
( 18 )
EE we eee _
BARAKAR GROUP. 19
In the Wardha valley, it is only possible to identify the Bargkars,
there being no rocks with the mineral aspect of the
No lithologically re- Ironstone shales, or the lithological features of the cognizable Ironstone . .
shales or Raniganjs. Réniganj group. It may be, however, that the
whole, or a portion, of the K4mthi series represents
them in time.
As all the workable coal which has been found, or is likely to be found, in the Wardha field, is contained in the Bar&kar group, I shall describe as fully as I can its distribution and its composition, and also indicate, for the benefit of those who may wish to become proprietors of coal lands, the positions’ best suited to their purpose. Such suggestions do not, asa rule, form part of a geological memoir, but I believe they will prove useful to venturers in a field so little known as that of the Wardha valley.
The knowledge acquired of the composition of the rocks and their order of succession, is due far more to the details ascertained by borings, than to any natural sections; for, with the exception of one in the Wardha river near the boundary separating the lands of Ghigds, from those of Chéndir, and another near Télws4, there is not a connected exposure of the group in any part of the field.
The general order of succession is (descending) :—
1. Thick seam of coal.
2. Sandstones and shales.
8. A few thin carbonaceous beds.
4. Sandstones and shales. T4lchirs.
The above section was proved to hold good wherever bore-holes were carried down through the entire series. There is a horizon of coal at the top or near the top of the group, but it seldom appears at the outcrop junction of the Bardkars and Kémthis, owing to its being usually over-
lapped. ( 19 )
~
20 HUGHES: WABDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The most marked bands of sandstone beneath the coal are: very fine-
grained light grey sandstones with minute specks
copnndstones Penesth of ferruginous quartz; fine-grained quartzose
sandstones with some iron pyrites and streaks of
carbonaceous matter ; and extremely hard, fine-grained whitish sandstones.
Whenever any specimens of the above-described rocks are brought up by
the boring machine, it is useless to go down deeper in the hope of meet-
ing withcoal. The pyritiferous sandstones, especi-
ally, are good indicators of position, and ought to be carefully noted.
Pyritiferous sandstone.
The ordinary sandstones are not so fine in texture as those just de- scribed, but resemble more the typical felspathic silicious sandstones of the Damuidé valley. Calca- reous matter enters into the composition of some of them, but notably into that of the bed directly under the top coal. A nodular appearance on the weathered surface of the rock is produced by it, which cannot fail
Nodular sandstone.
to catch the eye, and which is seldom seen on any other sandstone. In the northern part of the field this character is of great use in limiting the cireuit of search for coal.
The thickness of the group nowhere exceeds 250 feet. This compares poorly with its development in Bengal, where, as in the Jhermia field, it attains a serial thickness of 8,300 feet. The general dip is low.
The distribution of the Bardkars is very broken, and the area they occupy at the surface is extremely small, when compared with that of either the T4lchirs or Kémthis.
As every reliable determination of the Barékars was useful in narrow- ing the possibility of failure in the attempt to trace the extension of the top coal, which is only seen in three pjaces in the field, the identification of the group was-made as thoroygh as possible. I do not think any outcrops of the Bardékars, even of the very smallest dimensions, have
( 20 )
Thickness of Bardkars:
CHANDA DISTRICT. 21
escaped detection, a statement that I cannot make so confidently with regard to any of the other series in the field.
Further, as the interest in the coal-measures is more intimately con- nected with the history of the borings than with the mere enumeration . of localities in which unproductive Bardékars rise to the surface, I shall particularise the bore-holes; and in grouping my remarks, will first de- scribe the results attained in the Chfnda district, then those obtained in the Wiin district, and lastly those in the Nizam’s dominions.
In the progressive discovery of the thick coal, no borings were started in Barfkars (by the Survey), after the experience of the first few trials showed that it invariably occurred at or near the top of the measures, and that it was usually over-lapped.
To find the coal with some degree of certainty, the bore-holes were commenced in the K&mthis, or other overlying series. Most of the positions in the Win district, a few in the Nizam’s dominions, and some in the Ch&nda district, were indicated by the Survey : the rest; were chosen by the various officers of the Central Provinces, who from time to time were in charge of the collieries at Ghigus and Warora; by Mr. Smyth, Assistant Superintendent of the Government trial pits at Pisgaon; and by the Superintendents of His Highness the Nizam’s boring establishments at Sdsti and Rajur.
Chinda District.
The mostnortherly outcropof Bar&kars in the Chanda district, and indeed in the whole field, is in the Lalgh&t river where it flows between the two deserted villages of Bail- gaon and Kandara. The rocks are sandstones dipping low, and the prevalent direction is E. 10° N. Near the boundary of the K4amthis, however, it is almost due north. An attempt to prove coal in this locality was made by Mr. Fryar, who selected two sites for bore-holes: one near the junction of the Atmirdih and Laélgh&t rivers, and another on the
left bank of the former stream. These were not successful, the first one ( 21 )
Lélghét river.
22 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
having been sunk in Bar&kars, and the second not put sufficiently to the deep of the other. A more recent endeavour to reach coal in sites selected by myself failed to achieve any further practical result than to demonstrate that the red clays of the K4mthis occur at no great depth from the surface, and that it was impossible, in the absence of piping, to keep the holes clean. There is no reason to suppose that coal does not exist, and I believe it would be met with, judging from results in other parts of the field, at a depth of about 160 feet below the clays.
None of the ground outside Bailgaon and Kandéra was tested, as the indications of the probability of striking coal in shallow bores were not promising.
The extension of the Bardkars east and west of the Laélgh&t river is obscured by alluvium, and to the south they are cut off by a fault, the continuation of the one near Dongargaon.
Near Nimséra, there are several little patches of sandstones which are difficult to identify. They may be Barékars, but I have placed them in the Kaémthi series, There is no well-defined dip; it appears to be easterly and low. Coal would very likely be found at an easy depth between Nimséra and the main Négptir and Chanda road. The best line for boring on will bear E. 65°S. from the village.
In the neighbourhood of Khairgaon, a locality is marked on the map where the coal probably comes close to the surface. Not a trace of Bar&kar sandstone or shale is visible, but the Kaémthi beds that are exposed belong to the lower portion of their series,
Some borings were made near Aikona under Mr. Fryar’s direction, where a small body of Bar&kars is exposed in the Dehwal nala. None of them were successful in their purpose, which was to cut the coal oa
the left bank of the Wardha, opposite the point where it had been pre- ( 22)
Nimséra.
Khairgaon.
CHANDA DISTRICT. 98
viously proved at Z&gra on the other side of the river. The first hole was commenced many feet below the coal, being placed in the Bar&kar sandstone cropping out at the ght between Aikéna and Nilja. The site of the others were also ill- chosen, being near the west boundary of the field, and in presumably troubled ground. The direction in which the coal is more likely to be
Aikéna ; no coal,
found is east and south-east of the Dehwal ; but there are heavy deposits of surface gravels and soils, and the top coal may have been swept away . even as far as the village. It would be safer to try N.-E. of Aikéna, near the outcrop of the K&mthis.
The greater portion of the field to the south of Khairgaon for a dis- tance of nearly ten miles is occupied by alluvium which obscures the underlying recks. Bore-holes, however, have been put down through it in the vicinity of Kanji, Warora, Akfépirand Akarjin, and disclose the fact that the coal-measures occur in a basin to the east of Warora ata depth vary- ing from 68 to 285 feet below the surface of the ground. From the data supplied to me by Mr. Ness (the present Superintendent of the Warora Colliery), I find that over 40 bore-holes were commenced_and coal cut in twenty-six of them. It is not quite clear that the top eoal‘oceurs in all, but in 19, at all events, it appears to have been satisfactorily proved, and the shape of the basin was pretty accurately defined. It lies south of the 66th mile-stone, its northern limit being roughly the latitude of the staging bungalow. The western barrier skirts the tank, and runs
southward towards Saimbal. The eastern boundary beable boundary of i, conjectural to some extent, but it probably roughly follows the inside of the line from Aképtr to Nénd&ri. At the latter village the coal has been proved to be absent, which will throw the boundary to the west. The southern extremity of the basin has not been traced, but the
most probable conjecture is, that the coal-measures stretch in the direction ( 23 )
Warorsa, Kanji, Akapér, Akarjan.
94 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY OOAL-FIELD.
of Saimbal ; for near Vislone and Parfsgaon, on the left bank of the Sir nala, Télchirs are seen at the surface. The first hole successful in striking coal was No. 7, about 4 a mile east of Warora (September ]870), and soon after Noy bie in the steam-borer that had been removed from the Jharpat and brought to Warora, passed into coal at a depth of 176'6" from the surface. As this position was to the deep of the first spot in which coal was proved, and would open up a larger workable area, it was selected for the site of a colliery. Several adverse circumstances, such as frequent changes in the executive charge, inadequate machinery, and extraordinary influx of water, at first delayed the progress of sinking ; but at the latter end of 1878 Mr. Ness, a mining engineer of very considerable experience at home, was appointed Superintendent, and since then, all contingencies having been provided for, the work has pro- ceeded regularly. A winding pit (No. 2) is being sunk to relieve the first one of a part of its present duties, and will probably be completed in time to set the colliery in full working order when the railway now in course of construction is brought to Warora. I do not hap- pen to have for reference the record of No. 1 pit- bore, but the section of Bl bore-hole near the pit will illustrate the succes- sion of the rocks equally well :—
Bore-hole B 1.
Alluvium. Ft. In.
1. Dark clay ove ove oo oes 7 6 2. Brown clay eee ove ~- 16 O 8. Variegated clay eee ose ose 4 0
Kdmths. 4. Light brown sandstone (soft) 5. Brown sandstone wee 6. Red sandstone ... woe 7. Brown sandstone ove
8. Fine brown sandstone 9. Brown sandstone 10. Ironstone oe ( 24 )
ewe Bb wo o — a ee > ee >
CHANDA DISTRICT. 25
11. Brown sandstone eee 12. Yellow sandstone oe ese
13. Shale ose eee 14. Light brown clay wee 15. Brown clay... one
16. Soft brown sandstone 17. Yellow sandstone
18. Soft brown sandstone 19. Variegated sandstone -
Sao Swuronad B ecoooSoMmoo$os
Barékar.
20. Shale ove ove oes ose 0 6 21. Coal seams tee vee wo 48 0
Coal ove ove aes 4! 0”
Shale oes aa ove 2 0
Coal with shale woe vee 3! 6"
Shale mixed with coal _... oes 2’ id
Coal ee .° 16!
Shale ooo ove oe V 0”
White sandstone ee 2 0
Shale ose eee . 1! id
White sandstone vee aes 2! 6”
Coal with shale oe '¢ 6”
Coal aes ooo wo Li! 0”
Coal mixed with shale... ose 3 ‘tid
22. White sandstone
:
pond b— oO
TOTAL
8
The coal in this hole was struck at 172' 8”.
Drifts are at present being driven in the 15 feet coal, about 6 feet high, leaving 6 to 7 feet of coal above, and 3 to 4 feet on the floor. The coal has been variously tested, and found capable of good work, when freshly raised. It has a tendency to split, and if exposed to the rains, crumbles. There is a con- siderable quantity of iron-pyrites scattered through the seam in nodules and strings, and the amount of sulphur determined by analysis was large. A good deal of water is held by the coal, but this will diminish to
( 25 )
Character of coal.
26 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD. —
some extent when the pit becomes drier. At present (1875) the influx of water is enormous. Mr. Ness tells me that in the “rains” he has to raise over 600 gallons a minute to keep his workings open, which, considering the small depth of the pit, is unparalleled throughout India.
The following bore-holes were those in which thick coal was cut. The levels given are of the surface of the ground.
I. II. III. IV. Vv, . . REMARKS Thickness | Thickness |Depth from| Level of ° No. of hole. of seam. | of coal. surface. surface.
ee | ee | ee | eee | pe
1 80 01176 6 760 | Steam-borer. No. 1 pit.
8 17 0 | 122 0 749
6 10 0; 69 0 739 No. 6 and E are close to each other.
7 15 0O;102 O 7389 =| (Sep. 1870.
E 10 6 | 63 0 739
G 11 0; 80 0 736
L ; 12 O | 115 0 783 In place of H, which was lost.
O 14 0| 94 8 730
p 13 9| 95 9 730
R 22 6 | 243 0 788 Struck two thin seams higher up.
8 12 9 | 126 0 726
Bl 45 6; 380 6 | 172 8 759 Near pit (May 1873.)
El. 14 6]! 79 0 740 Between Nos. 6 and 7.
Gl. 88 9| 31 9152 6 "68 | (Sep. 1878). Five hundred feet from pit N. W.
Hi 60 3} 20 9 | 215 0) 758 This is 600 feet from pit S. E.
Mi. 37 4{/ 34 10] 149
Sl 85 0| 27 C (Dec. 1878.)
Ul 47 6/ 48 8 Shale and coaly shale 3'-3”". Sandstone 1'-0".
wi. 86 O} 386 O (January 1874.)
CHANDA DISTRICT. 97
The exactness of the foregoing figures in columns II and III must not be too closely criticised: for, in computing either the total thick- ness of the seam, or the total quantity of coal in the seam by reference to the journals, if must‘ be borne in mind that the degrees of coal, coaly shale, and shale, may be varyingly estimated by different people. What really is coal may be entered as coaly shale, and vice versd; and the totals will, of course, be affected accordingly. With this source of possible error, I think it is unnecessary to compare each section in detail. A broad fact is patent, that the bore-holes east of the line joining Nos. 7 and S entered thick coal, and ¢Aaé coal is the continuation of the seam
proved elsewhere in the field.
-”
The coal comes close to the surface near the tank, and sinks in the direction of Aképir and Aké4rjin. Taking the three borings S1., W1. and U1, the inclination in that part of the basin is 1 in 18, or about 8°*, The general dips are
Dip. .
indicated on the map.
The coal does not extend to Nandiri, a boring having been put down near the village that passed from the Kém-.
No coal at Néndari. this into Tflchirs.
The section of the hole in full is— Section of Ndudtri bore-hole.
No. Ft. In. 1 Surface soil... ose ove ne 3.—CO88 Kédmthis.
2 Yellow sandstone ove ves nee 2 0 3 White sandstone micaceous... we vee 1 0 4 Variegated sandstone 2 O 5 Red sandstone ... 2 O 6 Brown sandstone micaceous—_. wes aoe 2 0 7 Yellow sandstone 5 0O
* Authority.—Mr. Ness, Superintendent, Warora Colliery. ( 27 )
28 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
No. Ft. In. 8 White sandstone... a ~ wo 7 0 9 Brown sandstone -~ oe 7 0
10 Yellow sandstone oo 8 0
11 Red clay a - ~ 4 0
12 Light red clay . - wn -~ 8 0
18 Variegated ferroginous sandstone. ~~ 3 0
14 Light brown sandstone, highly micaccous -~ 6 0
15 Yellow clay os ~ ww 4 0
16 Coarse variegated sandstone... - ~ 2 6
17 Coarse red sandstone on we - 1 6
18 Light grey clay a - -~ & 0
19 Red sandstone . oe - w 10 6
20 Ironstone, very hard on - - 2 6
21 Hard ferruginous sandstone .., - ow 8 6
22 Coarse red sandstone ~ ws on 7 6:
23 Lightclay =... wo ~ 6 0
24 Red sandstone ... - oe tee 6 0
25 Brown sandstone on we ~ 6 0
26 Red sandstone .. ” ~ ~ 1
27 Greyish white rock os a ow 1 9
28 Brown sandstone ~ oo - 6 Oo
29 Yellow sandstone woe oe ~ 4 6
30 Red sandstone .. ~ tee w~ 8 6
31 Hard red ironstone ae - - OO 6
32 Red sandstone ... ~ - -~ 4 0
33 Dark red sandstone ~ on ~ 4 0
34 Télchire one on ~ a 2h 6
Whether the absence of the thick coal is to be attributed to original limitation of deposition, or to denudation, is a point upon which I hesi- tate to pass a definite opinion.
( 28 )
CHANDA DISTRICT. 29
The K4mthis overlap the Barékars in several places, which might be considered a proof of the upheaval and denudation of the Barékars, but this overlapping may be the natural result of depression during deposition.
The attenuation of the coal on the west edge of the Warora basin may suggest original limitation; but I see no reason why an advocate of post-Barékar denudation should not quote the circumstance as evi- dence in favour of his view, and perhaps with some show of reason, for if we compare the sections P. S1 and M1, which are all close to one another, a decrease from 34’ 10” of coal to 12' 9" would be a most sudden and unusual tailing off.*
Some of the Warora bore-holes are quite outside the thick seam, as
for instance, the one between the school and the
town, which, starting in Kaémthis, went down 249
feet without striking coal. This is only 800 yards from No. VL, in which coal was proved at 69 feet (surface level nearly the same).
Warora bore-holes.
In D., that is only 200 yards to the rise of VI., the coal was also missed. K., which is to the rise of P. (coal at 96’ 0”) was sunk 128’ 5” but no coal found (surface level of K., lower than P.). J. is also outside the coal, and likewise M.
All this evidence proves how rapidly and abruptly the coal disappears. And whether due to original attenuation, or to denudation, it shows that unconformity of overlap exists between the coal-measures and the Kémthis. And it follows as a consequence of this relationship, that the existence of representatives of the upper series of rocks is not always proof of the existence of the lower, underneath.
® It is just possible, in explanation of this great contrast, that the bore-holes along the western edge of the basin were not carried to the bottom of the seam. I have not the journals of the earlier borings, and take my figures from the plan of the bore-holes furnish- ed me by Mr. Ness. The journals of Bl to W1 have been supplied. ( 29 )
30 HUGHES: WARDITA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
At Majri Bardkars, appear at the edge of the alluvium. They are - considerably disturbed near the base in places, and Méjri, seam 50 8”. . ;
many of the dips range as high as 22° and 40°. There are three well-defined faults. A boring was put down, about half a mile south-west of the village, but it proved nothing, as it was stopped at 86 feet 8 inches in green clay of the Kémthis, which, with other beds of clay above it, gave much trouble. Another site was consequently selected by myself nearer to the Wardha river, and here coal was found at 75 feet from the surface. Thickness including partines 50’ 8”. Dip 12°.
The seam could not be proved in the Kangra lands, for a trial bore situated to the N.-N.-E. of the village, after Kinéra. No coal. . ;
passing through the K4mthis, entered sandstones
belonging to the horizon below the coal.
On the other side of the Wardha at Agdsi, the same result was ob- tained. According. to expectation, coal ought to
Agési. No coal. . e . have been found; but it may just be possible that sufficient allowance was not made for overlap; and as long as such a probability exists, the question of the coal having been denuded pre- vious to the deposition of the Kamthis cannot be decided by the evi- dence of these holes. One thing, however, is clear, and that is, that
Kiindra is an unproductive portion of the field.
Near Chargaon and Dhorwésa, the Bardkars are seen in almost their full strength. There is no exposure of coal, and there is scarcely any room for it to come in between the Wardha and the boundary of the K4mthis. The rocks dip in a westerly direction.
The nodular sandstone which occurs immediately below the coal is exposed in the Wardha at the water-ghat of Tél- w4sa, and may be here studied by those who wish to become acquainted with its appearance. It is an excellent guide in
the northern part of the field to the position of the coal. ( 30 )
Télwdsa, seam 58’ 10”.
CHANDA DISTRICT. 81
Thick coal was proved in the bend of the river a short distance above the ghat, but the workable area is too small for any practical utility. The section of the hole was—
Ft. In. Surface soil... ves sae vas as 29-2 Kémthi eee ses vee eee ». 82 6 Bardkar. 1. Brown clay vee eve wee » 8 8 2, Clay mixed with shale’... wes aes » O11 8. Black shale eas eee oes . Iii _ 4, Coal seam... vee ee vee .. 58 10 a. Coal ... we vee coe LY OW 6. Shale... soe eee Pe Gai + od c. Coal ... eee vee . & &Y ° d. Shale... vs we ww. 17 9 e. Coal ... ves one oe ll’ 2” 6. Shale ° ... vee oes eos wv 49 6. Shale mixed with sandstone eee nee we «CdD 7, White sandstone mixed with dark coaly shale... . 8 6
As many as 42 samples of the coal brought up at different depths from this hole* were assayed by Mr. Tween, and they gave an average composition of— |
Carbon... see ves ve oe §=48°94 Volatile matter ene eee ode coe 83°15 Ash eee ese oe@ eee eee 22°91
100'00
Portions of the seam are much better, as, for instance, the lower 1] feet of (2) which average about—
Carbon ... vee ees eee eo» 80°00 Volatile matter eos eee eee eee 82-00 Ash eee eee aee eee ees 18°00
100°00
* Records, Geological Survey of Indis, 1870, Volume ILI, Part 2, page 49.
( 81 )
32 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY OOAL-FIELD.
Compared with the class of coal from the Réniganj field that finds its way into the market, and commands the largest sale, this is inferior, no doubt, but it is of a serviceable standard.
The Bardkars south of Télw4sa are faulted against Vindhyan shales.
They do not appear again until they show in the lands of Ghigts,
Ghigts coal and in the Wardha. Here one of the earliest dis- coveries of coal by Major Lucie-Smith was made, and a pit was opened and sunk toa depth of 30 feet. A considerable quantity of coal for experimental trials was raised from it, after which the pit was abandoned, as it was within the limits of the ordinary flood level of the Wardha. Another pit, 10 feet in diameter, was commenced about 300 yards from the river, where the precaution had been thken to previously prove the coal. The recorded section of the boring at this
it is— P Ft. In. 1, Surface clay 8 0 2. Red moorum ese, ove ase ose 5 0 8. Variegated sandstone ase see vee eee 40 0 4. White sandstone . tes oT see 8 0 5. Yellow clay one aoe see nes aes 6 0 6. Dark-brown clay ee ee wee vee 10 0 7. Black shale... aes ane eee ove 2 0 8. Coal seam toe oes wee eee wes 47 6 a. Coal oes wes vee vee -- §«©8' ~Q! b. Dark sandy shale wee ves ves . «=—oE c. Coal see oes ee nee we «= 8s 0" d. Blue shale _.. ove ove vee aw. «=CséBsCé" e. Coal see ses see ase .. 12' OF Jf. Coal mixed with pyrites ... vee wee | id g. Coal ses wee see ves ee a h. Shale ees ees vee eee . «=2«CF #6 i. Coal(not all cut through) ase oes »» Ll! 0° Toran .. 121 6
The pit was visited by Lord Mayo, and ceremoniously opened by | him in March 1870. In commemoration of the Mayo pit. : . circumstance, it was named the Mayo shaft.
( 82 )
CHANDA DISTRICT. 33
As may be inferred, the quality of the coals in such a large seam varies. There are some bands of very fair excellence. The average composition of 382 specimens brought up from the bore-hole is about the same as that of the Télw4sa coalse—
Ghigts. Télwdea, Carbon see . 46°61 Carbon ove we 49°94 Volatile matter... we ©6988°49 Volatile matter... we. 33°16 Ash eoe ees 20°90 Ash ese eco 22°91
These averages are given for the purpose of general comparison only, and do not prove the practical superiority of one seam over another, as it is quite possible that a band of workable coal in the seam giving the lowest average may be more fitted for a special purpose than any found in the other.
When in fall working order, about 70 tons of coal were raised monthly at the Mayo colliery, some of which was used for the steam borer, and some by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The results obtained with it were sufficiently assuring to show that the coal might be relied upon for steam service. The galleries were driven into the upper portion of the seam, The pit is now abandoned owing to the advantage of position possessed by the Warora basin.
Two additional bore-holes were put down, one nearly due west of Ghigus, and one at the edge of the Wardha, south of Nékéra, to prove the variation in the seam.
Nokéra seam 90’ 8”,
The following are the sections :—
Ghigis.
Ft. In.
Coal seams... bes eee os ove 76 8 a. Coal... ove eee ove . 3 0 6. Shale mixed with coal oe ose . 2 ce. Coal... eee ses ove a. 3 O d. Sandy shale mixed with coal... oe aw 6 OF e. Coal... aes vee ee . 4 0 J. Black shale mixed with coal... one - FF O
B ( 33 )
84 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
g. Coal wm _ one ave aes wo TO A. Sandy shale ove aes ove ~ 10° 6 4. Coal . vee ewe oe 21' & je Sandy shale wee se eos ww Of 2 k. Coal aes eee oes » 10 0 White sandstone. Noék6ra. Ft. In. Coal seams... wes oes see eae 90 8
a. Coal ve ves ves . 4 0 b. Sandy shale with a trace of coal... ane o 2' 10° c. Coal... vee ves ees ~ 8 6 d. Dark sandy shale... aes ove 6 OM e. Coaly shale with coal wee "ees wo. (@
f. Black shale sas as - ... 16! 10” g- Coal (inferior) es ee ase . 4 0 h. Coal... vee one ove . 6!
4. Sandstone mixed with shale... ase 58 O j. Very dark shale... ves owe - 3 OF k. Dark sandy shale ... eve aoe ». 2' 10’ “. Coal =m ove ove ase . 21’ 8 m. White sandy shale ... wee ove . OF 2 m. Coal... aes eee owe .. 13 Of
White sandstone.
The sections of the lower portion of this seam are essentially the same throughout the whole of the Ghigus basin, the variations being confined to the upper part, considerable thickening taking place along the strike from north to south.
The coal area is about 3 square miles. It appears to be more on the map, but the Kamthis overlap the measures near Nékéra, for which a deduction must be made. The dips are moderate near the Mayo pit, not exceeding 8°, but lower down the river they increase to 12°. Less water at Ghigés They are not excessive, however, and as we have than at Pisgaonand War- in the Ghigts field ample coal, dry rocks and
little disturbance, there is scarcely a doubt ( 34 )
OHANDA DISTRICT. 85
that this area will some day be a valuable property. At present, Warora has the immense advantage of superior facilities of communication.
This brings to an end the most important results attained by borings in the Chanda district. I have still to refer to attempts made to find the thick coal, but they are of minor interest, having been unsuccessful. They remain, however, as records, During the earlier operations of proving the extension of the coal measures, several spots for boring were selected
near the town of Chénda by Mr. Fryar. Under Chénda; no thick coal. his directions the first bore-hole was commenced in the beginning of June 1869, close to the south- east corner of the boundary of the Nagina Bagh, north of the native town of Ch&nda. It was carried down to a depth of 80 feet, and then stopped, as the material bored through continued to be simply stiff sand. A second bore was commenced 230 feet from the first in the direction of the dip of the rocks, about east 15° north, but with no better result A third, about } of a mile still further to the deep, and near the junction of the Chimmétr and Négpitir road, struck 2 thin seams only, of 2” 0’ and 1’ 6’, belonging evidently to the lower portion of the measures. A sample from each bed was assayed, and yielded—
Carbon. Volatile. Ash. 2’0" bed 47°38. 41:0 11°2 1’6” bed 42°7 41-2 16'1
A fourth boring was made near the dak bungalow, to the west-by- south, and between the bungalow and the Jharpat nala, but it did not reach coal, and was abandoned. Mr. Binnie, however, who put down a hole 500 feet to the east of this, is said to have cut some coal, but it was probably a thin seam like those found in No. 8 of Mr. Fryar’s selection. Looking at the appearance of the sandstone near the dak bungalow, one cannot but be struck by its resemblance to the nodular Bardkar sandstone below the coal; but I am not prepared to maintain
that it is a member of that group, for its stratigraphical relations are ( 35 )
36 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
such that it could not be in the position it is without the intervention of faults, for which I could obtain no evidence
a ntones like Baré- Whatever. If the section of the Jharpat and the grounds adjoining it be examined, commencing
near the southern gate of Victoria Street (Chénda town), and going as far as the tombs of the Gond kings which are opposite to the dak bungalow, rocks are seen at the beginning of the section which certainly have all the characters of Kémthi sandstones. The dip is east and a little north, and this direction is maintained whenever the rocks are seen throughout Lélpet B&bipet, and as far as the tombs. There is, there- fore, an ascending series from the Victoria Street Gate ; and as the sand- stones which crop to the surface there are of characteristic Kamthi type, the sandstone near the dak bungalow must be of younger age than the
Bardkar period.
On the other hand, if the appearance of the sandstones be thought to be conclusive as to ite affinities, then the aid of faults must be sought. There is no sign of disturbance, however, and it would be more in conformity with the stratigraphical evidence to include it as a Kfmthi sandstone, presenting in a portion of its lateral extension a likeness to the nodular Bardkar sandstone beneath the coal.
Many of the sandstones of the Kémthis are as calcareous as that below the coal, and though this nodular appearance is usually a specific character exhibited by the latter bed, it is quite possible that in this instance a local development of the feature has taken place.
About 2 miles from Chanda on the Muhl road, where it crosses the
Jharpat, a hole was sunk 248 feet without striking Tharpat. Unsuccessful
rng.
coal. At that depth it was stopped, as the progress made was extremely slow, and arrangements were in contemplation for testing the field in that direction by the steam borer which had recently arrived from England. As events happened, it is a
matter of regret that this hole was not persevered with for 50 or 60 feet ( 36 )
CHANDA DISTRICT. , 37
more, within which depth the presence or absence of the top coal would possibly have been determined, for the steam borer, when fitted and placed in position, failed utterly to throw any light on the sequence of the underlying measures, being unable to penetrate more than 189 feet owing to the sandstones running and effectually impeding further progress. Some time was spent in trying to clean the hole, and then the boring machine was removed to Warora.
The prospect of finding coal where these trial sites were chosen is, “I think, a fair one, as a considerable allowance has been made to avoid the possible extension in this direction of the unproductive area proved near
the bungalow.
At Ballérpfr, several attempts were made to find within British limits BallérpGr. Unsuccess- the coal that crops out on the Nizam’s side of the fol search for thick coal. Wardha, and the first boring was put down nearly opposite the point where the coal is seen. It was unfortunately injudi- ciously selected, being within the limits of the old bed of the river, and was abandoned as there was not tubing enough to carry the hole through the running sand and gravel met with. <A second hole was, therefore, commenced in rock nearer the village of Ballfrpuir, and carried down to a total depth of 286 feet, but proved nothing more than two thin beds of coal 9” and 1'6” thick.
At the bend of the River Wardha below Ballérpir, where it commences Fault to flow in a south-easterly course, there is a fault bearing east 60° south with a down throw on the
north. It was thought advisable to prove the rocks on both sides, and accordingly two bore-holes were put down. Nothing worth working was met with, the thickest seam being 3 feet. There is evidently a consider- able amount of overlapping in the vicinity of Balldrpdr, and the top coal has possibly been denuded. The irregularity of its extension is better illustrated on the other side of the river—its absence under a large area
of Kaémthis having been demonstrated by numerous borings. ( 37 )
38 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
All the country south and east of Ballérpdr still remains to be examined. No Bardkars are seen for nearly 30 Country south and east of Ballarpir not ex- miles along the valley of the Wardha; but at amined. Léthi they appear, and in the opposite bank of the river occurs the coal known as the Antargaon seam. I believe that the Coal probably occurs Measures may be found within a reasonable depth along Wardha valley. along the entire length of the Wardha valley, for, though nothing but Kémthis occur, they belong to the lower portion of the series.
The greatest store of coal in the ChAnda district is probably to the east
Probable store of coal Of the town of Ch&nda, but every yard in that direc- east of Chanda. tion will probably give an ever-increasing depth to each sinking in search of the thick seam; and as long as shallow shafts will provide the fuel required for consumption, and superior means of communication give special advantages to other portions of the field, the East-Chanda coal lands will remain untested and uncared for.
North of Chanda near Walwat, where an inlier of Talchirs is exposed, it is possible that the top coal may occur near the surface, and if our tendencies are of a sanguine nature, we might hope that the TAlchirs, appearing at the distance they do beyond the main body of the series, indicate a strong probability that the coal measures may elsewhere, if not actually exposed, occur at a more moderate depth than the calculation from solated dips of overlying K&mthis generally applied would lead us to sup- pose. This is a point, however, which is at present a mere speculation,
and which, for many years to come, will in all likelihood never be veri- fied.
Win District.
On the Win or Berar side of the Wardha, the visible area of the Bar&kars is about equal to that on the Ch4&nda or Central Provinces side, that is, 11 square miles. A very thorough system of borings has been carried out here. Wherever the coal was presumably within moderate
reach of the surface, holes were put down. ( 88 )
WUN DISTRICT. © 39
The most northerly discovery of coal was made at Zagra, exactly opposite to Aikona. A patch of Kamthis crops out in the bed of the Wardha, and Mr. Smyth, who was in charge of the boring establish- ment in the Berars, sank a hole here. Coal was struck at 50’ 8” from the surface, and 7 feet proved.. It was not all gone through, it being deemed that that thickness was enough to show that the top coal had been found. South of Zégra a large area of trap occurs, in which it would have been impossible to make any borings, had it not been that in a few places in the beds of rivers, the trap had been cut down to the underlying strata—in most cases K dmthis. There could be no doubt from stratigraphical evidence, that the coal ex- tended under this covering of trap, but at what depth was quite conjec- tural.
Zégra coal.
The first boring was commenced near the border of the Mikta and Mikta boring stopped Z4gra lands about half a mile from the hole in the at 157’. Sandstonesran. Wardha. A small patch of Kdmthis, about 4 yards square, afforded the opportunity of a fair beginning. The rocks passed through were—
Kamthi.
Ft. In,
1. Yellow sandstone we nes ~- 12 0 2. Red sandstone oes oes - 1 0 3. Coarse white sandstone ove oes »- 11 0 4. Yellow sandstone wee ose vw 2 6 5. Yellow clay coe ove - O 6 6. Carbonaceous shale ove eee wo 6 O 7. Yellow argillaceous sandstone oe -~ 1 0 8. Yellow ferruginous sandstone ose ~~ 2 0 9. Yellow sandstone nee ove . 10 9 10. White sandstone .. aes oes ~ 3 O 11. Yellow argillaceous sandstone os o 9 O 12. White sandstone... oe eve . 6 O 13. Yellow argillaceous sandstone 2 8 14, Ironstone ae wee wee wv O 4 15. Whitish yellow sandstone _... ove « 3 O
40 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIRLD.
Ft. In. 16. Blue shale aoe ove ase aw 2 0 17. Variegated ferruginous clay ... owe o 6 0 18. Fine yellow sandstone vee wee .. 13 O 19. Variegated sandstone ee wee .. 6 0 20. White sandstone... ees coe” ove 8 0 21. Fine yellow sandstone eos oes ~ 6 0 22. Reddish white quartzose sandstone ave vw 1 0 23. Reddish yellow sandstone... ee . 1 0 24. Yellow ferruginous sandstone ase 1 0 25. Yellow argillaceous sandstone with carbonaceous mat- 10 r oes one on 26. Yellow sandstone ove eee vw 2 0 27. Coarse whitish yellow sandstone ove ~ 1 0 28. Yellow sandstone ove eve w. 3 O 29. Pink and yellow sandstone ... ove « 1 0 80. Brown sandstone micaceous ... oes w- 1 0 31. Gray argillaceous sandstone .,., ace wo 2 0 82. Yellow sandstone micaceous .. ove - 1 0 33. White sandstone ves wv 2 0 34. Fine yellow argillaceous sandstone ove . 1 0 35. Brown clay ves eee ase 1 0 36. Yellow sandstone one nes .~ 1 0 , 37. Brown clay ove ace ove . 2 0 38. Variegated clay .. oes eee wo 1 0 89. Yellow sandstone we oes -~- 1 0 40. Yellow clay on nee oes ~~ 1 0- 41. Yellow sandstone cee ove - 8 0 42. Grey earthy sandstone ove one ~~ 2 0 43. Yellowish earthy sandstone ... ees » 38 O 4A. Yellowish white sandstone .. ove ~ 1 0 45. Pinkish sandstone ove ase wo 1 0 46. Brown earthy sandstone eee eee ~ 2 0 47. Yellow argillaceous quartzose sandstone, ferraginons and micaceous ove ove 6 0
TorTaL we 157 O
ee
At a 157 feet the hole was stopped.
I have given this section in full to show that true Kamthis underlie
the trap, and that could the boring have been proceeded with, the top ( 40 )
WON DISTRICT. 41
coal would probably have been proved. The brown earthy sandstone (46) however, began to ran, and after continued attempts to clear it away, failed to do so; the hole was abandoned. One curious feature in this section is the occurrence of carbonaceous shale. As a rule, the K4mthis are devoid of anything ap- proaching vegetable matter. Impressions of leaves and stems are found, but nothing more.
Running sandstone.
Carbonaceous shale,
In the Wardha to the south of the last site, 8 or 4 outcrops of Kémthis Dandgaon. Borin appear. One of them was sunk into, but the stopped by sctting-in of boring was not carried to any greater depth n. than the previous one, on account of the monsoon setting in. Itis to be regretted that these holes were not put down deeper, as there was every chance of coal being struck.
The next series of borings to be described are in connection with the area around Pisgaon, &., where Bard&kars are seen at the surface, and in- dicate more certainly the occurrence of coal.
Pisgaon.—The first spot was selected by myself in the river that flows south of Pisgaon, and is marked No. 1 bore-hole on the map. Coal was struck 77 feet from the surface. Thickness of seam 27 feet. Section—
Pisgaon seam 27'0’,
Kimthi. Ft. In. 1. White sandstone eee 2 0 2. Red sandstone ... eee ave . 1 0 3. White sandstone eee vee . 27 O 4. Yellow sandstone vee ve ~ 8 O 6. Red sandstone ... nee ose 4 0 6. Yellowish white sandstone ... aes ll 0 7. White sandstone ove bee «- 4 0 8. Yellow sandstone— Bardkar. 9. Carbonaceous shale ox ove . 2 0 10, Black carbonaceous shale... ove 1 0
40 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIRLD.
Ft 16. Blue shale ww. ~- ws ~ 2 17. Variegated ferraginous clay ... - = 6 18. Fine yellow sandstone = “ 13 19. Variegated sandstone a 6 20. White sandstone ... tes -~ 8 21, Fine yellow sandstone. ~ 6 22, Reddish white quartzose sandstone - 1 23. Reddish yellow sandstone - wed 24, Yellow ferruginous sandstone “ 1
26. Yellow asgillaonons sandstone with carbonaceous mat
26. Yale sandstone ~ ove ae 27. Coarse whitish yellow sandstone - ~ 28. Yellow sandstone o- ~ 29, Pink and yellow sandstone ... on - 30. Brown sandstone micaceous ... one ~” 31. Gray argillaceous sandstone ... os we 82. Yellow sandstone micaceous .. we ~ 33. White sandstone oo one 84. Fine yellow argillaceous sandstone - tee 36. Brown clay we on a . 36. Yellow sandstone
. 37. Brown clay on oo 88. Variegated clay .. we we on
WH HOMO HE HH EH Ee De a eoDoeeoo ooo OC OSC OSD COO Oooo CO OO OOO OOF
89. Yellow sandstone ~~ oy ~~ 40. Yellow clay a ws ~ 41, Yellow sandstone on ~ ~ 42, Grey earthy sandstone we we ~ 43. Yellowish earthy sandstone .., oe oe 44, Yellowish white sandstone .. ” - 45. Pinkish sandstone ~ ae ane 46, Brown earthy sandstone... ~- 47. Yellow m arillaeous aartzee sandstone, “eraginon 5
Toran =. 1657 0
At a 157 feet the hole was stopped.
I have given this section in full to show that true Kamthis underlie
the trap, and that could the boring have been proceeded with, the top ( 40)
WON DISTRICT. 4]
coal would probably have been proved. The brown earthy sandstone (46)
however, began to run, and after continued attempts to clear it away,
. failed to do so; the hole was abandoned. One Running sandstone. .
curious feature in this section is the occurrence of
As a rule, the KAmthis are devoid of anything ap-
Carbonaceous shale. proaching vegetable matter. Impressions of leaves and stems are found, but nothing more.
carbonaceous shale.
In the Wardha to the south of the last site, 3 or 4 outcrops of Kdémthis Dandgaon, Boring *PPC8T: One of them was sunk into, but the stopped by setting.in of boring was not carried to any greater depth than the previous one, on account of the monsoon setting in. Itis to be regretted that these holes were not put down deeper, as there was every chance of coal being struck. The next series of borings to be described are in connection with the area around Pisgaon, &c., where Bardékars are seen at the surface, and ine dicate more certainly the occurrence of coal.
Pésgaon.—The first spot was selected by myself in the river that flows scam 27°0", south of Pisgaon, and is marked No. 1 bore-hole on the map. Coal was struck 77 feet from the surface.
Thickness of seam 27 feet. Section— Kinthi.
Ft. In. 1. White sandstone oes bes 2 0 2. Red sandstone ..., aoe ‘ 1 0 3. White sandstone oo, vee 27 0 4. Yellow sandstone eee ove o 8 O 5. Red sandstone ..., vee bee we 4 0 6. Yellowish white sandstone ... oo ll 0 7. White sandstone one bee wo 44 O 8. Yellow sandstone—
Bardkar. 9. Carbonaceous shale ore ove vw 2 O 10, Black carbonaceous shale ove . 1 0 ( 4] )
42 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
Ft. In. il. Coal seam eee eon ove 27 0 (a). Coal eee TT) eee 17' 0” (8). Black shale i - 2 0 (c). Coal oe eve ove 8! 0” 12. Light-colored shale vee oes . lL 0 13. Black shale eee eos ovo eee 1 0 14. White sandstone ... ove vee oe 14 0 Tora, ». 120 O
At the time of the discovery of this coal, the relative claims of the right and left side of the Wardha to a line of railway were being dis- cussed. ‘Fhe importance of having coal as near as possible to the main line of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway was recognised, and Pisgaon being as near, or nearly so, as any spot then known to contain coal in the Chénda district, it was determined that a trial: shaft should be sunk, and coal raised in sufficient quantity to test it practically. Addi- tional bore-holes were commenced to prove the lie of the seam. No. 3 reached 106' 2” and there got jammed. No. 8 was not proceeded with beyond 152’, as the white quartzose sandstone in which the chisel stood at that depth was supposed to denote the horizon below the coal. No. 4 struck coal at 98’ 6” from the surface, and a shaft was commenced on the site of the bore; it was stopped, however, by order of Government when only 22 feet had been sunk (March 1871).
After some months of inaction, orders again arrived to proceed with | sinking, but the shaft having fallen in, further
borings were made on the right bank of the Pis- gaon nala, and in No. 7 the seam, 21 feet in thickness, was struck at 108
feet from the surface (26th October 1871). On the site of this bore- hole a 9-feet shaft was commenced, and sunk to the coal (October 1878). Headings were driven out in the bottom portion of the seam, and suffi-
cient coal raised to enable a judgment to be passed respecting its qua- ( 42 )
Character of coal.
WON DISTRICT. . 43
lity. Much of the coal was very hot, containing, after the expulsion of water, a high percentage of carbon, but its average quality was much the same as that in other parts of the field.
During the progress of the works, a few more bore-holes were put down that determined the regular extension of the coal, but demonstrated that towards the deep the seam inclined more rapidly than in the vicinity of the shaft. In all, 11 bore-holes were commenced, in 8 of which coal would most probably have been struck had it been deemed advisable to persevere with them. It would have been necessary, however, to carry Nos. 9 and 10 to a greater depth than was at first anti- cipated to cut the coal, and they were accordingly abandoned.
North-west of Pisgaon is the village of P&pur. Here the Bar&kars are not exposed, but a boring was successful in
Pépi $1’ 0." _— striking coal at 74' 8” from the surface. Section of seam-— Ft. In a. Coal oes 2 0 3. Carbonacious shale 10 ce. Coal 28 0
Below came the usual white sandstone. This was the most norther- _. ly point in this portion of the field that coal was coal belay trap at Mase met with. Endeavours were made to discover itin Bit and Dociaplr. the direction of the strike near M&ngli and Dod4- pur*. The holes unfortunately had to be commenced in trap, which prov- ed too refractory a material for the ordinary boring tools at command. The progress each day varied from 1 to 2 inches only, and the under- taking was accordingly abandoned, It was a mere speculation whether the Barfkars extended as far as the sites chosen for these two holes, for nothing but trap rock was visible, but the possible result was thought to justify the indulgence of a little enterprise.
® Dodapér near R&ldégaon. ( 43 )
44, HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
Coal was proved at Wardré and the intermediate villages between it and Win during the early prospecting of the field (December 1871). Two bore-holes were put down near the Wariré nala, north-north-east of the village. In the first, the pump broke at 231 feet. In the second, which was a little to the rise of the first, coal was struck at 131 feet from the surface, close under the K&mthis, and the section was—
Warfré coal struck.
Ft. In.
Kamthis bes ses ees .- 132 0
_ Bardkars.
1. Light shale ... ase 1 0
%. Black carbonaceous shale 10
3. Coal ve bes 16 0
4. Shaly sandstone . 6 0
5. Black carbonaceous shale ° 2 0
6. Shaly sandstone 40
In 1874 and 1875 the advisability of opening out the Néth-Wartr& area of the field was entertained by the local Government, provided more extended operations were sanctioned at head-quarters. It was hoped that the lie of the beds would be less steep, the area of coal larger and the rocks less wet than at Pisgaon. To determine the first two points, more bore-holes were ordered to be put down, but no definite system was adopted, and the borings seem all to have been put down promiscuously with a view to testing the presence of coal in the field, and not to test its lie at any one point. Five sites were selected by Mr. Bourne (the Superintendent of the Pisgaon Colliery), but coal was only struck in Nos. 8 and 5. After that gentleman’s departure for England on sick leave, consequent upon his having been severely injured by a tiger, three positions were chosen by Mr. Smyth. No. 1A. was somewhat too far to the rise, but No. 2A. (commenced 9th March 1875) struck coal at 215 feet from the surface. Thickness of seam 29 feet. The strata passed through were sandstones of the ordinary K4mthi type,
and some beds of white, red, and yellow clay. Immediately underlying ( 44 )
wtN DISTRIC?. 465
the seam was white sandstone, somewhat calcareous, In No. 3A., the eoal was struck at a depth of 185 feet from the surface, the total thick- ness of the seam, including the top carbonaceous shales, was 17 feet. This section illustrates how the amount of coal diminishes when the seam is met with near the surface, the thickness of the seam in No, 2A, being 30 feet (including the top carbonaceous shale).
At R4jar, which is to the south-east of Wardra, coal was proved in 1870, in a bore-hole (No. 1), the site of which was pointed out by myself. As the intention at that time was merely to test the continuance of the coal under the upper rocks which cover the whole surface there, the rods were withdrawn after 15 feet of the seam had been cut into.
Réjar coal.
More recently, in extension of the Wartré explorations, additional borings were made on the Parsora side of Réjir. The first of these (No. 2) Mr. Smyth undertook to place within a moderate distance of the Kémthi and Barékar boundary, to ascertain whether the thick coal might not be met with near the surface ; but like the hole No. 1A, Wart- rf, the attempt was unsuccessful, It would appear to be a waste of energy looking for it without allowing a considerable horizontal distance for overlap. No. 8 bore-hole was placed nearly }ths of a mile from Réjir, and the coal run into at 114’ 9° from the surface. Thick. ness of seam 22 feet. The next hole (No. 4) was situated half-way be- tween No. 8, Rajiir, and No. 8, Parsora, and coal was found at 202" 10". Thickness of seam 25' 6” and, as usual, there is a roof of black carbona- ceous shale.
The most southerly of the recent series of holes are those of
Parsora. No. 1 bears slightly north of east
from the village. It was’ pointed out by myself,
and coal roughly calculated to occur at 250 feet. The chisel, however,
passed through a band of clays and argillaceous sandstones, and
progress was ao impeded by the difficulty of keeping the hole clean, that | ( 4 )
Parsora seam 81' 0”.
46 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
the rods were moved to No. 2 site, after 162’ 8” of strata had been pass- ed through. Coal would have been struck in the second hole, at 190 feet, but the pump jammed at 76 feet, and a fresh boring was commenced immediately alongside, In this the coal was struck at 190 feet. Thick- ness of seam 31’ 0°. By moving the rods to the rise of No. 1, the clays there met with were avoided. |
From the foregoing-facts it will be seen how thoroughly the belt of coal-measures extending from Parsora to P&pir has been explored, and the continuity of the top seam proved,
The dip of the Barékars beneath the K4mthis has only been deter- mined approximatly at Pisgaon and appears to be
Dip of Barék Pp? =“ 18°. At the surface junction it is not more than
11°, and in some places is less. Towards Néth and R&jir, the breadth of the field widens, and the dip lowers somewhat.
Regarding the comparative dryness of different parts of this field, it cannot be asserted positively that one locality is less burdened with water than the other. It is probable, however, that the position of the shaft at Pisgaon was badly
Comparative dryness.
selected, lying, as it does, between two streams, and just above their confluence.
Below Parsora, the Bardkars are not again seen for a long way, but a bore-hole was put down at Win nearly opposite Ganéspuir. The site was selected on the left bank of the river, at the lowest level which could be found ; and, at a depth of 245 feet from the surface, coaly shale was pierced. The record of this bore-hole gives—
Wan coal.
Ft. In. Kémthi .. ea oes ove oo. 245 O Barakar. 1. Coal seam— ove ove ove «we 37 O a. Coaly shale aes a 10° 0” b. Coal = as oe oe l' 0 c. Coaly shale ove ove 1s' 0 d. Brown clay ase ase l' 0
( 46 )
WON DISTRICT. 47
Ft. In.
e. Barytes ... ove ove QO 2
Sf. Coal sw ove ees 1' 10’
g. White sandstone we 2’ 0’
kh. Coal eee aoe ove 3) oO” 2. White sandstone .. soe ove o 16 0 8. Yellow sandy clay ... ee oes wv 1 0 4. White sandstone... ses ove wv. 12 0 310 0
This coaly shale and coal evidently represent the thick seam of the northern portion of the field, but it is difficult to understand how it has deteriorated so in quality, and I am inclined to doubt the correctness of the terms assigned. I had no opportunity of ever seeing the samples, being on sick leave in England when this boring was carried out (Novem- ber 1871). At the depth at which the seam was pierced, 245 feet from the surface, if would be more in accord with expectation to find coal, and not coaly shale.*
Another strange feature is the occurrence of barytes with the coal, and of black carbonaceous shalef in the Kémthis at 86' and again at 90’ from the top of the hole. The only other bore-holes in which this is repeated is that of Mukta, already referred to, and K4warsa.
The total depth of the Win hole was 310 feet, and it was put down in 48 days. This, considering the thickness of coal passed through in which progress is always slow, is a feat well worthy of record, and I question whether, with mere windlass power, ordinary cutters, and facility for unscrewing only 2 lengths of rods at a time, it has ever been surpassed
# Since writing the above I have had an opportunity of speaking to Mr. Smyth. He tells me that the pump brought up very soft material quite black, that retained that color when dried, and in which there were hard pieces of coal. This soft black material I consi- der to have been coal, for shale invariably dries to a lighter tint than coal. The hard pieces of coal alluded to as coming up in the pump are evidence that coaly shale is not the term which ought to have been used.
¢ See Bore-Hole Returns.
( 47 )
48 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
in India. The hole might perhaps have been put down in less time with & spring pole or a lever, but an average of 6' 6” daily is excellent progress. To the south and west of Win, a boring was commenced at M&nki, . near the west border of the field, to try and dis- Méanki bore-hole 53’ 0’. ote . ° cover within what approximate depth coal might occur. The area around Ménki, with the exception of the small outcrop of K4émthis north of the village, is covered by alluvium, and no dips are visible to influence a surmise as to the probable thickness of strata that would have to be pierced before coal was found; but a boring was suggested, and very good indicative sandstones are recorded in the section. Unfortunately, only 53’ 0” were proved, the hole having to be aban- doned on account of the setting-in of the monsoon (1870). Much inter- est was attached to the result of this boring, for if coal had been struck, some further evidence to determine the nature of the western boundary would have been. acquired, and an opinion of some weight might have been offered as to the lie of the measures between Ménki and Win. The necessity of testing other portions of the field which possnssed advantages of position, and where coal could probably be reached with less labour, prevented the resumption of the Ménki boring, and farther oper- ations in this direction were never undertaken.
The remaining bore-holes to be described accompany the belt of Baré- kars that, appearing at M4jri west-north-west of Bhandak in Ch&ndé district, follows the course of the bed of the Wardha to its junction with the Pém Ganga.
The most northerly of these is the one put down at Agdési, within the limits of Gaori. It was selected in the hope that sufficient horizontal allowance had been made to avoid the overlap which was proved on the other side of the river at Kinéra. After 90’ 6” had been sunk, however, it was evident that the
top coal had been missed, and that a position more to the deep would have ( 48 )
Agési. No coal.
W N DISTRICT. 49
to be chosen to find it. It was not deemed necessary to commence a second hole, as the limit of the barren ground could not extend far to the west of Agé&si, and especially as no convenient spot could be discovered to start in.
At Ahiri, about 1 mile due south of the last position, the edge of the
Abfri. Edge of thick thick seam was struck at 118 feet fromthe surface. seam struck.
Section— ; Ft. In. Kdmthis ... eee ees ees . 115 O Bardkar, 1. White sandstone... oes 2. Brown clay ves aoe - 3. Carbonaceous shale bee oes
4. White argillaceous sandstone 5. Carbonaceous shale 6. Blue clay, micaceous 7. Carbonaceous shale 8. White sandstone 9. Carbonaceous shale 10. White sandstone 11. Carbonaceous shale
CORD ND RE HEE EP RE SHE RH ORDO OH eseooocooooceoeodcoooosa co ©
12. Brown clay, micaceous ose see ave _ 13. Light blue clay see
14. Carbonaceous shale aes cos coe" 15. Sandstone ove eee ee oes 16. Carbonaceous shale aes ove see 17. Blue clay vee - ve ose 18. Variegated sandstone ave ose exe 19. Yellowish red sandstone eee
20. White sandstone oe woe
21. Fine grey sandstone vs ase ane 22. Hard white limestone (P)_... ave ove
Toran ves » 174 6
The hard white limestone was probably a pebble or a boulder.
A bore-hole was commenced at Borgaon in the bed of the Wardha through a misapprehension of instructions, but it was stopped at 74 feet. To findcoal, a site much
more to the deep would have to be selected,
Borgaon. No coal.
( 49 )
60 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
South of Borgaon the thick seam was proved near JGnfra. Sixty-
two feet of coal and shale were passed through,
PR iy tics over and the bottom of the seam not reached. As the
coal here was evidently the continuation of that
discovered on the opposite side of the river, there was no necessity to pro- ceed with it.
Below Jiinfra near the villages of Pipalgaon and Ukni, small faults affect the continuity of the rocks, and just oppo- Pipalgaon, Nocoa, " . .
site the point at which No. 1 Telw4sa boring oc- curs, the series has been thrown down to the south of a fault which crosses the river, This has enabled some of the beds higher in the series overlying the coal to be here preserved, and they overlap the coal-mea- sures to a greater extent than is seen in the adjoining and more denuded area. To test this part of the field, a bore-hole was put down, which, however, was not sufficiently far to the west, to avoid this great over- lapping, and which therefore only touched the extreme outcrop of the top coal. The area near Pipalgaon is evidently one of disturbance, and
troubles may be anticipated if attempts are made to open out the coal.
A much more favourable tract for colliery enterprise exists to the south at Nilja and Belora, where the Bar&kars for the first time occur on this side of the field in the vicinity of the Wardha, The strata dip at low angles, 5° and 6°, and the coal has been proved.
Two bore-holes were commenced at Nilja. In the first one the coal was not struck, as the auger and rods jammed ; but in the second, placed a few feet from No. 1, it was cut at 86' 4” from the surface.
Nilja seam 81' 8”,
Section. Ft. In. 1, Surface soil ~ - wo 10 2. Variegated sandstone oy oy ow 3 6 8. Light brown sandstone - - 5 6 4. Red moorum ow ~ w 8 2
(50 )
WON DISTRICT. 51
Ss? ¢* mt =)
5. White clay, with kunkur se aoe 2 6 6. Kunkur eee oes oes - 1 7 7. Brown sandstone oes eee wv 2 O 8. Sand ove see ove wo 1 9: 9. Light-colored sandstone, micaceous eee ~ 14 0 10. Light-colored sandstone ons wes - 1 0 11. Variegated sandstone eve eve ow 4 2 12. Light yellow sandstone ose vee . 18 1 13. Variegated sandstone ove aes . ll O 14. Brown sandstone... oe eos "ow. 8 4 15. Variegated sandstone oe vee . 2 3 16. Red sandstone ees ose eee we 2 6 17. Black carbonaceous shale eee eee . Ll 0 18. Coal seam cee - ~- 81 3 Coal ,, ee a woe B27! Av Sandy shale woe owe oo AW Coal mixed with shale vee w 2 Shale... ove eee wo 4 Coal... ose ves vw. oo 9! 19. White sandstone _... oo ves ~~ 2 6 TotTaL ».» 170 1
The section of the seam here agrees with those of No. 4 Ghigts and Noékéra, the total thicknesses of coal and partings in the 3 being :— Ghugis, Nilja. Nékora.
76 8 81 3 90 8
Near the village of Belora the dip of the Barékars does not exceed
5°. The outcrop of the coal is not visible, but the
eee ed. edgeof line that it ought to follow is defined by the base of the ridge of ferruginous sandstone upon which
Belora is built. A bore-hole was put down a little to the south of the village, but it was somewhat too close to the outcrop of the measures, and the seam was only partially proved. It may be predicted with safety, however, that 50 or 60 yards farther to the deep a very similar section
to that of Nflja would be obtained. Adjoining the Belora lands are ( 51 )
52 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COALeFIELD.
_ those of Kiéimbaéri, where one of the natural exposures of the top coal occurs.
Kumbéri was visited by Mr. Blanford in 1867, and described in the Records of the Survey.* The seam is exposed in
Kimbéri coal. . 2 ‘ the bottom of a channel running into the river Wardha. Total thickness not seen. Dip 7° to west-south-west. Sam-
ples of coal taken from the outcrop and analysed by Mr. Tween, gave the
following result :— Volatile matter ove ».. 936°0 (water 8:0) Fixed carbon oes we 49°65 Ash ves ve 146
TotTaL oe L00°O
The proportion of volatile matter is unusually large, but the ash is not in excess of the average of most Indian coals. South of Kium- béri, the Bar&kars extend into the Chanda district and constitute the Ghidgts basin. It was, of course, unnecessary to prove the coal on the Win side of the river opposite to Ghigts and Nékéra, and no attempt was madeto do so. The bore-hole at the latter place, though claimed by the left bank of the Wardha, demonstrated that the body of the coal was on the other side.
The Bard&kars recross the river at Mangaon, and possess a very slight angle of inclination. No search for coal was made
boring indicated for here, but if at some future time it should be sought, the boring ought to be commenced at least half
a mile west of the village on account of the gentle dip of the mea-
sures.
Two bore-holes were put down west of Sékri, but they each missed the top coal, owing to the allowance for overlap
Sakri. No coal.’ . . . . not being sufficient. A site still further west
* Records, Geological Survey of India, 1868, vol. 1, part 2, page 28. ( 52 ) | :
WON DISTRICT. 58
of No. 2 must be selected to prove the seam. The nodular sandstone of the Bar&kars, is very well exposed at S&kri near the village well, and the circumstance of the coal not being struck in No. 2 boring shows that the overlap must be considerable, The dip at the well is 7° west-south-west.
The Barékars extend to Kolgaon, and there cross the Pém Ganga into the Nizam’s dominions. The bottom rocks are hard felspathic silicious grits, with very marked nodular weathered surfaces. The dip is 12° at the base of the group, but increases towards the top to as much as 20° and 80°. The upper boundary is somewhat uncertain, but I have carried it west of a small feeder of the Pém Ganga, which flows from Yenak towards Kolgaon. In face of the high dips exhibited by the Barfkars, it would be unadvisable to test for coal in this neigh- bourhood, and as itis questionable whether coal occurs at T&kli, the expo- sure of TAlchirs at that village, pointing to the probability of a very shallow, or possibly denuded series of measures, the southern limit of the coal lands in the Wiin district is proximately on the latitude of Sékri.
That the doubt regarding the occurrence of coal might be confined to the area north of T&kli, two bore-holes were put down, one near Taékli itself, and the other within the Chickli boundary, and in neither was coal found.
The whole series of borings carried out on this side of the Wardha has now been enumerated, and the existence of coal over a very large area
Takli. No coal.
has, unquestionably, been proved. When bore-holes were commenced in anticipation of. meeting the workable top coal (such anticipation being based upon sound stratigraphical reasoning), and yet the coal was not actually proved, the indications afforded by the sections were quite enough to show that within a moderate distance of these holes (4 of a mile or so to the deep), coal would have been found ; and consequently, in com- puting the productive area, such holes may be accepted as the outer limit
marks: for instance, Mikta, D&ndgaon, Agdsi, Ahiri, Belora and Sakzri. ( 53 )
54 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The thickness of the seam, starting with an average of 20 feet, in- creases from north to south. The dips for the Thickness of seam. most part are easy, and the coal may be won by shallow shafts. The coal appears to be continuous over larger areas on the Wan than on the Chanda side of the Wardha. It is possible Coal. continuous over . larger areas in Wan dis- that it may extend from the western boundary to trict than eleewnere. within a short distance of the river, the discovery of it in the Win hole being a very favorable sign. The greatest covering of overlying rocks probably occurs within the circuit of M&ndar, Bésa, Neoli, Pdnwat and Malégarh, where 700 or 800 feet would be the minimum
depth at which coal would be found.
Nizam’s Dominions.
The Bardkars that cross the Pém Ganga into the Nizam’s dominions were not tested for coal; the discovery of an exposed seam at Séstf, opposite Ballarpur, having given prominence to that portion of the field and caused the efforts of the engineers of His Highness the Nizam’s ‘ public works to be centered on the object of proving the extension of the seam in the vicinity of SAsti, rather than in exploring distant areas.
The S&sti coal is frequently spoken of as the Ballérpur coal, but, as pointed out when describing the borings of the Ch&nda district, such a designation is wrong. The coal crops out on the right bank of the Wardha, and not on the left. It can only be seen in the hottest and driest weather, when the water in
Sésti. Outcrop of coal.
the river is at ite lowest, and then only a few feet are exposed. The seam rests upon sandstone nearly similar to that at Telw4sa, but it is excessively false bedded, ‘and no distinct dip can be seen. There appears, however, to be an east-south-east tendency at an angle of about 5°. -
Inland near Sésti the rocks are almost horizontal, but near Doptéra the dip is south and a little west.
The first boring was commenced 15th July 1871, and the last closed ( 54 )
NIZAM’S DOMINIONS. 55
18th January 1874. They were all confined to the circuit of Ré&jar, Sfsti, Manoli, Kolgaon, Kadoli, Paoni, and Gaori, an area about 7 miles long and 4 or 56 miles broad. They proved the ocurrence of coal only over a very restricted area, and showed that there were two local basins : one hetween Paoni and Gaori, and another east of Sésti. The limits of the Sdsti basin would appear, by reference to the journals, to be in the im- mediate vicinity of the two shafts, A and C. I cannot, however, help expressing my conviction that these borings are incomplete sources of evidence as to the continuity of the coal, and that, with the exception of No. 1 bore-hole near R&jur, scarcely one was carried to the depth that it ought to have been, to be accepted as testimony against the occurrence of coal. Unless excessive denudation has taken place, it is strange that coal, which was proved to be 50 feet thick at C, should be entirely absent in the direction of its dip, and that not one out of several borings should have struck it. In no part of the Chénda or Win district has it been shown that such a sudden and abrupt cessation of the seam takes place, as is implied by the record of the borings in the Nizam’s dominions. No system appears to have been adopted in selecting sites. Out of the total of 52 borings commenced, many were begun 50 and 100 feet below the horizon of the coal. Others were started in fair positions, but un- familiarity with the measures led to their being abandoned in the most arbitrary manner, and thus it happens that so few are recorded as having pierced the thick workable coal. ‘‘ Blue sandstone” appears to have been accepted as the index rock of the unproductive horizon of the Barékar group. What this blue sandstone was, I cannot tell. It may have been dark carbonaceous sandstone, and if so, was an index rather of produc- tive than sterile measures. Of course one can only hazard an opinion, but I believe many, if not most, of the bore-holes were too shallow.
No. 1 bore-hole, near Rajér, was carried fairly into the unproductive - measures, and I think the absence of coal south of
this, to the Talchir boundary, is highly probable, ( 55 )
Rajér. No coal.
56 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
But north of No. 1, I consider that if the holes 18 and 19 had been persevered with, instead of being abandoned when “ blue sandstone ” was entered, one at least of them would, in all likelihood, have tapped coal. I give their sections in full—
No. 18, (21st August 1872)—
Ft. In. 1. Black soil ese woe ove ove 3 0 2. Sand oes aoe eee ove 8 0 8. Variegated shale and kankar ... : ves « 4 °0 4. Yellow sandstone... oe nee - 95 0 5. Dark-grey micaceous sandstone vee eve 0 6 6. Blue sandstone... aes eve ~ 18 6 7. Grey sandstone .., wee ove 0 6
o < a pa & fo)
No. 19, (6th September 1872) —
1. Black soil eee ose wes eo 12 0 2. Yellow clay with kankar ove oe ove 7 0 3. Soft yellow sandstone ove we ave 4 0 4, Micaceous shale ... ore vee ove 9 0 5. Do. sandstone eee 5 O 6. Yellow sandstone ... ose eee ove 40 7. Micaceous sandstone ves ove ove 1 Oo 8. Red sandstone ww. ees ove soe 3 0 9. Blue shale eee ose eee oe 20 8. Yellow shale eee ove ese ove 2 0 9. Yellow micaceous shale soe oso tee 4 0 10. Yellow sandstone ... ves oes «. 22 0 11. Greenish sandstone ove ove on 6 0 12. Yellow standstone... see wee ose 2 0 18. Blue shale ove ves eve 1 O 14. Yellow sandstone ... ves ees see 2 0 15. Grey sandstone ... ove eee oes 38 0 16. Blue sandstone ... vee ove w. 14 0
Tora. « 102 O
There is nothing in the above records to indicate that the horizon below
the coal had been reached, and yet both holes were relinquished by the ( 56 )
NIZAM’S DOMINIONS. 57
Superintendent of the boring establishment under the belief that they were outside the seam. It is a matter of great regret that source for doubt should exist, and that it is now only conjectural whether the Sésti basin extends to RAjdr. Thirteen feet of coal and dark-blue shale were struck in No. 29; and in No. 4, near Déptara, the following section of coal and partings was proved :—
Ft. In
1. Yellow and red sandstones, and surface soil ves 45 6 a. Coaly shale ve . = l' & 6. Brown shale - eee 1! 0 c. Black carbonaceous shale ees 2 0 d. Brown shale ves eas 3' 0’ e. Shale with coal pipes... . Lo JS. Coal ves ves eee B60” g. Dark-grey shale one vee ' 0 h. Shale with glints of coal = =«=—lh t. Coal bee oes bee 4’ 6 j- Shale with coal eee ees l' 0 k. Coal vee oes ove 1’ 0
The above may represent the Sdsti seam, but in a very deteriorated form. No part of the field between Déptira and the west boundary can be trusted to contain coal, as the Télchfrs strike from Paoni to Somténa, probably underlying the K&mthis directly, or with only a thin parting
Area likely to feward of lower measures between. The area most likely search for coal. to reward search is the belt of land 2 to 3 miles broad, parallel with the Wardha, starting from Sésti, passing by Chunfla, Chanéka, Wihirgaon, and onward to the south.
The two shafte near Sésti (A and C) exhibit the following sections :— A. (No. 2 bore-hole)—
Ft. In. 1. Black and brown clay with kankar .. 81 0 2. Brown clay and gravel wee vee — 9 O 8. Brown clay see ll 9 4. Coal seam 27 0
68 - HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
Ft. In. Coaly clay oes ove 5’ 66! Coal oes we =: .6':10” Grey sandstone we . Of 11’ Coal eee oes 3’ 9
5. Grey sandstone The top of the seam has been denuded, and the whole thickness of coal is not met with. C. (near No. 8 bore-hole).—
Ft. In
1. Brown clay with kankar ove ove 12 0 2. Brown fine sand ove ove ~ O 6 3. Brown elay with sand 0 6 4, Brown clay with gravel we ove o OO 8 5. Brown clay eee ove 0 4 6. Brown sand | ose oe ~. 2 0 7, Pebble bed (very hard) one ove - O 6 8. Fine sand vee we .. O 6 9. Pebble bed (very hard) ose one w~ O 6 10. Sand one ove . O 8 11. Pebble bed one ave vw O 6 12. Sand se ove . O 8 18. Brown clay vee ves wo 4 6 14. Coal aes nee ~- 60 6 15. Grey sandstone one oes w 17 0 16. Coal eee ove eee 1 6 17. Grey sandstone one ooo - 38 0 ToraL w~ 95 4
A detailed examination of the seam in A shaft to determine its quality was made by Mr. Taylor (viewer), who was in charge of the sinking operations and the opening out of the workings, and he divided it into the following classes (17th August 1872) :—
Ft. In. a. Bright, good coal ove one ~ 2 .6 b. Inferior coal, strong band sos oe . O 8 c. Strong, good coal in bands __.... ove -~ 4 0 d. Black sand of coal ove ose w~ OO 4
( 58 )
BARAKARS—NIZAM’S DOMINIONS. 59
Ft. In. e. Bright, strong bituminous coal wee - 2 83 J. Inferior coal, dark band ove eos w~- 2 0
g. Grey and dark shale we oe wv. O 4
hk. Iron pyrites, not regular ove eee ~ O 1$ s. Inferior coa/, dark band vee vee 2 0 J. Strong, good coal in band 1 0 ‘ke. Strong grey shale 20 l. Strong, bright coal, very full of pyrites and brown sand 1 0 m. Strong, dark, shaly band owe eos ~ O 6 n. Strong, good, bright coa? in band $ 3 o. Inferior coal, strong band oo eee 0 2 p. Strong, good, bright coal, with iron pres 2 0 q. Inferior coal in band see ~~ O 2 r. Strong, good, bright coal with iron pyrites w~- 2 O TotaL » 22 0
This estimate of the coal was found, by practical experiments con- ducted in Bombay, to have been a very fair one, and bore out Mr. Blanford’s valuation made in 1867, that the seam would yield fairly useful fuel for all purposes. The best coal is the 7' 7’ at the bottom. ‘Two ordinary assays made by Mr. Tween of samples from the outcrop in the river gave—
I. I. Fixed carbon aes 51°2 49'9 Volatile ove 39°0 (Water 4°56) 42°4 Ash ese 9°8 77 100°0 100°0
The quantity of ash is much under the average of Indian coals. The water, however, as usual, is excessive. The sulphur yielded was °77.
The thick seam in the Paoni basin was, according to the journals proved in Nos 37, 45, and 48, The sections of the
Paoni thick seam. first and last are— No. 37, (14th May 1873).— Ft. In. 1. Surface soil ove tee ~ 63 6 2. Variegated and white-grey and yellow sandstones wo 87 6 3. Coal seam ove eee .. 64 0
( 59 )
HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAI-FIBLD.
Ft. In. Coal, strong and good aes . OF & Shaly inferior coal ove . i @& Coal, strong and good ove ~ FF OF Shale ove wv «ClO Coal, good oe wo. & Shaly coal see . OO 6 Coal, good oes ~ FF OF Shaly coal oe ~~ Il Coal, good ase 7 0 Shaly coal aes .§ O 6 Coal, good ees FF CF Shaly coal with brown sand... «62! OOF Coal, inferior wos -. Ll Dark-grey micaceous soft shale ~ 2 OF Coal, inferior ose ~~ OF & Coal, soft and bituminous ove -. Of CO Dark-grey shale eee . 4 OF Coal, biluminous ove . 13' 0 Dark-grey micaceous shale _... » F OF Coal, inferior ove . Ll @
4. Dark-grey micaceous shale... oe - 23 0
6. Dark-grey micaceous sandstone ove ~~ 23 0
TortaL oo. 230 O
No. 48 (20th November 1873).—
Ft. In
1. Surface soil ove ase . 44 6
2. Yellow variegated sandstone ... one o. 33 O
3. Carbonaceous shale and shaly coal ae « 9 0
4. Coal, seam ee ove a 57 2 Coal, good ee - 10 10° Slaty shale . wo «=C«ésd«Y:ia Coal, inferior ove wo 2 0 Coal, good eee we LS OF Coal, inferior ove oe il' O Dark and light-grey carbonaceous shale ... 6' 9 Coal, inferior ove we «CoD! Dark-grey carbonaceous shale wa. er ee Coal, inferior eee . 3 OF Coal, good oe o 18 &
( 60 )
BARSKABS—=NIZAM’S DOMINIONS. 61
Ft. In. 6. Dark-grey sandstone oe ase ~ 14 10 TorTaL o 168 6
In the journals supplied to me, the levels of the surface are not given ; and as the positions of the holes on the map are, oe scam over 6 7 believe, open to correction, no definite estimate as to the lie of the seam can be made. I confess to a certain amount of surprise at coal having been proved near Paoni, unproductive Bardkars and Tflchirs occurring on either side, the probability thus being that the thick coal would have been absent. But I presume the registers are to be relied on, and the circumstance, that a coal seam of 60 feet occurs west of Paoni, must be admitted. The area it occupies would appear to be very small, as evidenced by the results of the numerous bore-holes put down within a short distance of the one in which the seam was first struck. Tabulating the results, we find—
No. of bored in hole. Depth bored Results, Ft. In. 86 73 O Hole in Télchirs. . Coal seam 64 feet, struck at 141 from surface, or 87’ 6” from rock surface. 88 217 0 | No coal. Surface soil 13 feet. Bardkars absent. Kémthis resting upon TAlchirs 89 168 0 No coal. Passed into K4mthis at 33 feet from surface, and into unproductive lower measures at about 129 feet. 40 170 0 No coal. Surface soil 7 feet. Stopped in horizon below coal. 42 178 0 | Nocoal. But carbonaceous shale 10 feet. Evidently below hori- zon of coal. 43 84 0 No coal. 44 175 O No coal. Stopped in grey sandstone below coal. 45 203 0 Coal struck at 70’ from surface, or 4474 from rock surface. porineed of seam 42' 9’ or including top and bottom shale 67' 9 46 42 6 No coal. Talchirs, 47 4t 0 Indefinite result. 48 158 6 | Coal. Thickness of seam 57’ 2” or including carbonaceous shale and shaly coal at top 66 2.’ Strack at 77'6” from surface, or 88 feet from rock surface. 107 9 No coal. 154 0 |Nocoal. Appears to have passed through Kdmthis, and Bardkars below the coal.
( 61 )
62 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The superficial area of the basin, taking its outermost limits, cannot be more than one square mile. The Sisti sandstones evidently roll to the west, and rise again at Paoni from a trough in which a handful of coal occurs. No. 88 is the outmost southern point, and No. 46 the outmost northern point of the extension of the seam. The coal dips eastward from Paoni, and is probably at the deepest portion of the basin in No. 87. No samples of it were analysed, but it may be presumed to be similar in quality to the Sésti coal. Summarising the results of the 52 borings made in the Nizam’s dominions, it will be seen that the real value of the field near Réjdr has not yet been demonstrated, more bore-holes being required, east of those already put down, to test it fairly; and the Sfsti coal has not been touched by a single decisive boring, except those in the imme- diate proximity of its outcrop. These results are certainly unsatisfactory, considering the expenditure of time; and much more practical issues would have been arrived at if the application of geological reasoning had been understood. I am not assuming too much credit in saying that ten sites selected by the Survey, and the samples submitted to their inspection, would have tested a larger area, and more convincingly.
South of R&jiir, the Bardkars are entirely overlapped by the K4mthis for some miles, but near Wirdr they appear once more, and extend on to Antargaon and MA&kri, beyond which point they are not seen. It is not an easy matter to define the upper boundary of the Bardkars near Chicholi, there being a most confusing similitude in the sandstones of the two series, In examining the section exposed by the Wardha from Tohogaon to Sindi, Dénora and Pét, there are many of the rocks which, if isolated, might have been mistaken for Bardkars; but there was little difficulty in placing them, as there was a moderate margin between them and the next series. When the exact limit of that margin, however, had to be defined, the task became perplexing, and I have to confess to the possibility of my line being open to correction. In the reach of the river below Chicholi, and on the Léthi side, some strongly developed white felspathic sandstone, with a very nodular surface, look-
( 62 ) |
BARAKARS——NIZAM’S DOMINIONS. 63
ing in every respect like the sandstone at Télw&sa under the coal, is seen, which I should have had little hesitation in placing amongst the Barékars had it not been that some of the beds underyling it had too much affinity of appearance to the Kamthis. The rocks cropping up at the mouth of the little stream (Ch4nda side), at L&thi gh&t, are un- doubtedly Kémthis ; and so also are those in the stream south of Chicholi. There is no unconformity between them and the underliyng nodular sand- stone, whereas lower down the river there is a variation in the direction of dip, which may indicate some unconformity ; but the sequence -of the strata being broken, it is only of small significance, and I have preferred to carry my line farther to the south. The indeterminateness of the boundary does not invalidate the conclusions already arrived at regard- ing the relationship of the Bardkars and K4mthis, but merely shows that near Chicholi there is an absence of critical evidence.
Coal occurs at Antargaon, a little south of the Lathi ghat. It does Antargeon seam @ 0 not form the top bed of the measures, as in so many other parts of the field, and I cannot say positively whether it is the representative of the thick seam. It can only be examined by digging away the river mud that overlies it; and then
the following section is exposed :—
Ft. In Coal ose ‘ wo 2 6 Shale . 09 Coal ove ose ». 2 9
ToTaL eee ooe
lS | ©
The direction in which it dips is not well defined ; but it has a general slope to the north-east. The coal presents a very fair appearance, and though the analyses of the samples that I forwarded to the Geological Survey Office do not indicate a high class of fuel, it must be borne in
mind that the specimens submitted to examination were from the surface. ( 63 )
64 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY OOAL-FIELD,
Taking no note of the water (8°7 per cent.) the contposition of the coal is—
Carbon ons eee ee w 61°26 Volatile wes vee eee a. «=$28°25 Ash ese eee ove we 20°49
TOTAL oe we 100°00
An anticlinal, west of Antargaon, causes the dip of the Bardkars near the base of the hills that sweep round from Coal at Kondsi-ke-pahar ane to be in a reverse direction to that seen in the river; and I believe the Antargaon seam is again exposed in the portion of the Andr range called Kondai-ka-pahar, dipping south-south- west at 10° At all events, a bed of coal 5 feet thick crops out a short way up the face of the hill. The place where it ocours is not an easy one to find, but near it isa trickling fall of water -in the cold season, strongly impregnated with calcareous matter. This water the natives say is very effective in protecting their crops from the ravages of larva, and I saw some men carry away several bamboo cups full of it for use. Immediately above the coal is carbonaceous shale, 3 inches, then carbo- naceous sandstone. The boundary of the K&mthis occurs higher up the face of the hill. I could not measure the section ; neither could I trace the seam for any distance along its strike.
There are no other outcrops of coal within the limits assigned to the Wardha valley field.
To the south, the Damtdas are overlaid by rocks belonging to higher series, and there appears to me little chance of find- No coal at moderate depth. between Siepir ing eoal at anything like a moderate depth between an Sirpdr and Siréncha, which is the farthest point
I have been to down the valley of the Pranhita. In this field the seam is absent in several places where, judging by superficial stratigraphical evidence, it might rea- oe sonably have been supposed that the sites chosen for boring would have been successful in proving ( 64 )
BARKKARS—NIZAM’S DOMINIONS. 65
coal. This circumstance can only be due either to the fact that the seam was not deposited where the borings were made; or, that having been deposited, it was denuded before the rocks of the K&mthi series were formed. If there were a section freely exposed, this question could be settled at once ; as it is, we can only approach it through the considera- tion of what might be expected to appear under these two suppositions, and the agreement therewith of such facts as we know. It might be thought that the discussion is practically an idle one; that it mattered little whether the coal had never been deposited, or whether it had been removed. But it is not so; the hopes regarding what is there now depend a good deal upon those same conditions—removal or original limitation.
On the supposition of its being the remains of a once more extended spread of coal, one might expect it to exhibit and maintain the uniformity of thickness and quality that usually attends deposition on a wide scale ; whereas, if these frequent blanks are due to original limitation, we must expect the coal to exhibit the irregularity that befalls every sort of formation near a margin of deposition.
The supposed pre-K4mthi denudation may have been of two sorts: a greater, involving a lateral disturbance (undulation) of the coal.mea- sures, and the wearing down of the irregularities so produced, resulting in very decided unconformity (intersecting planes of stratification) with the next succeeding deposits; or a lesser, due merely to change of level and consequent erosion of the latest deposits; resulting also in a marked kind of unconformity—general parallelism, with occasional abruptly abut- ting stratification, such as may everywhere be seen between old and new alluvial deposits. Every case of denudation must in some degree pro- duce one or other of these forms of unconformity.
This term is also sometimes applied in the mere sense of discontinuity ; when deposits are not co-extensive; where upper deposits overlap, or
spread beyond, lower ones, without any contrasting contact of the strata. ( 635 )-
66 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
This occurs naturally at the margin of every area of deposition, whe- ther in a water-basin, involving depression for lateral overlap, or in an alluvial plain by the simple growth of accumulation. Without the prefix overlap, it is rather misleading to speak of this mode of relation of suc- cessive formations as unconformity.
Now the question is, which of these cases fits best to the observed features of the Kémthi-Bardékar contact? We can at once pronounce about the overlap; it occurs freely, the Kémthis being often found rest- ing on rocks older than the Bar&kars; but I am unable to refer to a single section showing distinct unconformable contact, or to show evidence of the Bardékars having once occupied ground where they are not now found ~ beneath the Kémthis. In other words, there is no direct evidence of a pre-Kamthi denudation, with or without disturbance of the Bardkars, It must be admitted that the ground is very covered, and good sections are scarce ; but, on the other hand, it may be said that evidence of intervening denudation between two deposits would not be limited to contact-sections.
In the case of these borings we obtain what may be called internal evidence, as compared with the mere mechanical evidence of unconformity. If the concealed margins of the seam beneath the K4mthis were denuda- tion margins, we might expect them to be like such outcrops now ex- posed. We should touch coal at once, of scmething like the average quality, having only suffered in the usual way from weathering; and the seam, or such portion of it as is left, should be something like an average of the same portion as found to the deep. But it is not so; the borings show that these attenuated outcrops can never have represented an aver- age section of the seam. We find shale, not deteriorated coal. Now this is just what would occur along the original limits of accumulation of coal-forming vegetation.
Szorion VIII.—K<Amrui Group. In ascending order the next group of rocks is that to which the
name of Kémthi has been given. It is unconformable to the Bardékars, ( 66 )
KAMTHI. 67
overlapping them extensively; but it is nevertheless a member of the Géndwéna series, and represents in time the upper division of the Dam da series, and possibly also a portion of the Panchét formation of Bengal. It is the most extensively-developed series in the field, covering a large unbroken area of several hundred square miles on the left side of the Wardha. It is devoid of coal, but connected with its occurrence is the important inference that coal may be found at a moderate depth beneath its lowest strata.
The name Kémthi was provisionally given to this series by Mr. Blanford, when examining it in the neighbourhood of the military sta- tion of K&mthi, near Négptr. There was at first no intention of retain- ing the name, it being thought that evidence might be accumulated to identify the rocks so designated, as members of the groups already es- tablished in Bengal. But though the fossil plants in the K&mthi beds connect them with the Damudas, the mineral character of the K4mthis is at variance with that of both the Ironstone shales, and the Réniganj groups. ‘There is a similarity in the aspect of some of the clays in the K4mthis, to those of the Panchét series in the R&niganj field, but there the likeness ends. The name therefore has been continued, and it indi- cates rocks possessing a distinctive mineral character.
The rocks are sandstones, clays, and conglomerates, of which the sandstones and shales form the bulk of the
Descriptive summary rocks. series.
of The sandstones exhibit almost every shade of color, and almost every degree of texture. Many of them are highly ferruginous, others calca- reous, and a few have manganese distributed through them. At the base of the series, the sandstones are usually coarse-grained, porous and friable, and slightly yellow, reddish-bruwn, or grey
Rendstone. in color. The porosity which may be an aboriginal character is an important distinctive feature, as it is not seen in the
sandstones of the Barékar group. Amongst the indications that influence ( 67 )
68 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
the selection of sites for boring purposes, the porosity of the sandstone is one of considerable value. The estimated thickness of these rocks is about 400 to 500 feet. They are extremely well exposed in the Wardha, below the old pit at Ghagis.
Above, come sundstones which are more typical of the group, and accord with the description given by Mr. Blanford of the sandstones near the station of Kémthi. They are compact grits, breaking with a conchoidal fracture, and ringing under the hammer; fine-grained or coarse, friable or compact sandstones with red blotchy streaks upon a whitish, yellow, or brownish-red ground; compact argillaceous sand- stones, deep red, buff, or pale-purple in color; coarse, white or grey fels- pathic sandstones ; and ferruginous sandstones.
The shales are compact, argillaceous beds of various colours, red
predominating. They are very characteristic of Shales the series. The clays are usually red and green. A few beds are interstratified with the lower sandstones, but the fullest develop- Gaye ment of them is in the higher part of the series.
The conglomerates and pebble beds form # very small proportion of the K&mthis, and are seldom found with the lower sandstones. They usually occur higher up in the series, accompanying the compact, vitreous blotchy-colored sandstones. .
Extremely hard, vitreous bands of a few inches in thickness are met with occasionally. They are not characteristic of any horizon, but more accompany the lower sandstones than the upper ones.
Ferruginous matter is very liberally distributed through the whole
Large percentage of of the K&mthi series, chiefly as a coloring agent, iron in some sandstones. yt Jocally it becomes concentrated, and many of the sandstones contain a high percentage of iron: samples that were
xd for analysis yielded from 17 to 35 per cent. Manganese
onally a coloring medium, and some of the sandstones hold as ( 68 )
KAMTHI. 69
much as 6 per cent. of it. In the red clays at Malagarh hill, it occurs in botryoidal masses which furnished as much as 44°6 per cent. of oxide of manganese.*
The Kémthis have yielded to Mr. Hislop’s researches in the Wardha field, a Labyrinthodont reptile (Brackyops lats- Organic remains, . ; ceps, Owen), scales and jaws of fish, Hetherie and vegetable remains. To the Survey they have surrendered Estheria and plants. The former are the ordinary (Hstherta mangaltensis, Jones).
The latter, determined by Dr. Feistmantel, as—
“ From Iséptir— 1. Glossopteris Indica. Schimp. (Glossopteris Browniana, var. Indica, Bgt.). Some are very nice and large specimens,
similar to those known from the neighbourhood of Négpiir.
2. Glossopteris Browniana, Bet. (Glossopteris Browniana, var. Australasica, Bgt.). Some are distinguished by the smaller size and the more obtuse apex of the leaf, but they all belong to this species.
3. Glossopteris comp. musaefolia, Bunb. A fragment of a very broad leaf, with very narrow reticulation, as in Bunbury’s species.
* From Charwat—
1. Actinopteris sp. Some round, radially striated, remains ; re- minding one at once of the fossils which were first de- scribed as Cyclopteris peltata, Gopp, but later by Schenk as Actinopteris peltata, Schenk, from the Rhetic strata in Bavaria. Schimper is inclined to consider these fossils as impregnations of hydrated peroxide of iron. Be this so or not, the constancy of their occurrence in the Rhetic beds is remarkable.
®@ Records, Geological Survey of India, 1874, vol. VII, part 3, page 126. ( 69 )
70 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIKLD.
2. Seeds. Very abundant. They are apparently the seeds of some Cycadeous plant, and I woald apply the name Cycadinocarpus, Schimp.
“ From Kawarsa—
1. Phyllotheca Indica, Bunb. Established by Bunbury as an Indian type. It is one of the Lguisetacee of the genus Calamites (Suckow), and reminds one of Calamites arena- ceus Jiger. It might perhaps be considered as only the stalk of Sckizoneura, Schimp.
2. Schizoneura, Schimp, Fragments.
8. Glossopteris Indica, Schimp. (Glossopleris Browniana, var. Indica, Bgt.). A piece of a large leaf with large reticulations.
4. Glossopteris Browntana, var. Australasica, Bet. Some smaller leaves than the above may be determined as being of this species.
“From Andr (2 miles south-east of Antargaon, Nizam’s dominions) — Equisetacea— 1. Phyllotkeca Indica, Bunb.
2. Schizoneura sp. <A fragment of the common Réniganj form.
3. Shizoneura sp. A leaf resembling Morris’ Zeugophyllites elongatus from N.S. Wales. Perhaps it may be a new species, and if so, I would term it Schizoneura tenusnervis, Fstm.
Filices— | 4. Glossopteris Browniana, Bet.
5. Glossopteris leptoneura, Bunb. A narrow form.
‘The occurrence of Schizoneura establishes, according to the experi- ence of the Bengal coal-fields, a relationship between the beds in which
they were found and the Réniganj group.” ( 70 )
KAMTHI. 71
Chanda District.
Following the same plan of describing the distribution of the Kam- this as that adopted for the Bardkars, I will first allude to their occur- rence in the Chanda district.
The most northerly points at which the Kémthis appear, are Méngli Péndirtéra, Bhatéra, and Khémji. They are overlapped by‘ trap and alluvium from MA&ngli to Khémji, but east of the latter village they are in contact with gneissose rocks, being faulted against them. Along the trap boundary, compact gritty sandstones are found with bands of conglomerate, all so strikingly similar to one another, that little doubt can be entertained of their belonging to one group. The most pro- minent sandstone is a white or grey variety with streaks and blotches of red. It is frequently felspathic, generally coarse, and very often has a vitreous conchoidal fracture. The majority of pebbles in the conglo- merates are of quartzite, but amongst them are fragments of various sizes of very fine buff sandstone, generally sub-angular. In all these charac- ters there is a close resemblance to the beds described as typical Kém- this at Baz&rgaon.* The subordinate beds are red earthy shales and argillaceous sandstones.
The beds of MAngli, which contain Estherias in abundance, and
from which the Labyrinthodont (Brachkyope laticeps) Méngit. was obtained, are red and yellow argillaceous sand- stones. They dip to the south, but this is not a constant direction over any large area, opposing dips being seen in the Léndi stream. I am able only approximately to compute the horizon which these beds occupy in the series, and I put it at 600 to 700 feet. The base of the Kaémthis is exposed at Bailgaon, and allowing 400 to 500 feet for the lower, sandstones, and 100 to 200 for intermediate beds, an estimated height of 700 feet, € think, will be nearly correct. The rocks of this part of the country roll about at low angles, so that the vertical thickness of the series cannot be great. # Memoir, Geological Survey of India, 1872, vol IX, page 314.
( 71 )
9 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
Should any endeavours to prove coal at Mangli be made, a maxi- mum of 70U feet is probably the depth to which the boring would have
to be carried.
Similar sandstones to those at Mangli occur at Thalaigaon, accom- panied by red argillaceous shales with a glazed appearance, and hard, vitreous, blotchy-colored sandstones.
Eastward of Thalaigaon, at Chichfra, Tembarda, Pisdira, and Mho- Blotchy sandstones wara, the blotchy sandstones are very strongly de- veloped; and at Bhatéra they rise into low, irre- gular-shaped hills overlooking the valley of the Sir nala. Many of the harder beds of the Bhatéra hills are quarried for millstones. Bands of conglomerates are very common.
Around Warora most of the country is covered by alluvium, but near Kanji there is a small outlier, and in the Dehwal stream to the west there is another.
Tho largest and most uninterrupted area of Kaémthis, in the Chanda district, commences at Pauni and Bhandak, and extends to Khirmiri on the Wardha, covering more than 600 square miles of country, Throughout this tract every variety of rock composing the series is seen; but the fine argillaceous sandstone, although occurring here and there, appears to be less abundant and less characteristic south-east of Ch&nda than to the north.
The lower sandstones of the series—the porous open variety—are in
full force in the vicinity of Bhandak, and rest directly upon TAlchirs, They constitute some portion of the Deolw&ra
and Wijhdsan hills, on which occur the well- known cave temples alluded to and described in the Central Provinces
Cave temples.
Gazetteer.
From Bh&ndak to the eastern boundary there is a general easterly
dip, but not at high angles, and over many miles Eastern boundary.
( 72)
the rocks are nearly horizontal. Where the river
KAMTHI. 78
Irai enters the field, the K&mthis are in contact with gneiss; but near Moharli, the Vindhyan sandstones are in juxtaposition to them.
The boundary was not so easily demarcated when the strong con- trasting gneissose rocks were replaced by Vindhyan sandstones, many of which are very similar to those of the K4mthis. And when, in addition, the boundary ran for many miles through a deserted and nearly trackless part of the country, covered by forest, bamboo jungle, and vigorous over- topping grass, the difficulty of following it closely was so great, that I merely determined it at a few accessible points, such as Moharli, Nimbéra, Hardih, &c.
Judging from the dips, it is evident that the boundary of the Kfmthis and the Vindhyans is a fault. South of Hardih, in the Andari river, the beds are turned up at high angles, and elsewhere along the boundary there is a rapid increase of slope near the edge. There is a cross-fault at Hardih. Opposite Pipalkiita gneissose rocks are again in contact with the K4mthis, and that relation is maintained (with two exceptions near Borda) as far as Karinja. Below Karinja, limestones of the Vindhyan series are the border beds. °
The town of Chanda is built upon the lower sandstones of the Chin ands built onlower “*mthis, and near the north gate some of the rock sandstones. is incorporated with the wall. It is the same variety as that seen at Ghigts. Richly ferruginous sandstones occur east and south of B&ébuipét, and are also seen on the road to Ballérpir.
' Chorwat and Isfpdr, two localities mentioned as having yielded vege- table remains, are both near Ch&nda,—Chorwat being 8 miles south of the Victoria gate, and Isépiir 4 miles south by east. The radially striated plant, determined by Dr. Feistmantel to be an Actinopteris, is found in a somewhat soft ferruginous sandstone, exposed in the stream north of Chorwat that falls into the Irai on ite right bank. Seeds and fragments of stems were the only other remains.
Chorwat fossil plants.
( 7 )
714 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The beautifal impressions of fern leaves from Ishpir were obtained in quarries north-east of the village, where the white and pink homogeneous, argillaceous sand- stone is worked, which the skilled masons of Chénda carve into very minute forms of ornament.
IshpGr fossil plants.
| Wén District.
On the Wiin side of the Wardha, the most northerly exposure of the K&mthis is at Zigra, where coal was struck by Mr. Smyth at 50° 8° from the surface. It is cut off to the south by trap. Small inliers occur at Dandgaon, and there can be little doubt of the extension of the series under the trap of Makta and Apti. A broad wedge of Vindhyan lime- stones forms the barrier of the field south of Mas&ndra, and extends as far as Parsora. Here the limestones are lost, and the strip of Barékars and Kaémthis comes in, which stretches to the north-west, towards Pisgaon and Pépir. The K4émthis pass under the trap near the last-mentioned village. Their strike is north-west, south-east, and in the hope of finding coal in the direction thus indicated, a boring was | commenced at Méngli near Sindi. As was before explained, however, the tools available were not suitable for cutting such tough material as trap, and the attempt was unsuccessful.
MAngli bore-hole.
Only the lower sandstones are exposed in the strip of K4mthis from
Sandstonea soft when Péptr to Parsora. They are of the type described
first quarried, and harden in the descriptive summary, as soft, open sand-
stones. They are only soft, however, when in situ.
After having been quarried and dressed, they become quite hard. The
colors are very intense in the vicinity of Parsora, and the deep red and
yellow of the samples brought up in No. 1 bore-hole was a noteworthy feature. °
Red clays are associated with the sandstones, but they do not appear
_ to be continuous on the same horizon, the height
Red clays. . . at which they occur varying from 150 to 200 feet
( 74 )
rfwrat. 75
above the base of the series. In the deeper bore-holes at Pisgaon, their thickness does not exceed 7 feet; but at Parsora they swell into a bed of 14’ 0’, and a few subordinate ones of 4 and 2 feet. The lowest bed occurs 149 feet above the Barékars. In the Wen hole, where they were also cut, they are 145 feet above them.
The town of Wiin stands upon a low ridge composed of sandstones with ironstone bands, and also some red and pink argillaceous sand- stones. The latter have been used in the construction of the new tahsil erected within the last year, and they confer an attraction to ite exterior, which is not usually obeervable in buildings of its class.
The dips are rather steeper in the neighbourhood of Wtin than is found ta be the case elsewhere. North of the town it is as much as 80°, and in the river 20°.
The direction of strike twists slightly between Wun and Wéagdéra, but it may be said to have a general line of south-east, north-west.
The angle of dip decreases in the neighbourhood of Balér hill to © 12° and 8°; and the beds that were seen at Win occupy a much wider area. On the north-east side of the hill a coarse conglomerate occurs, containing pebbles of fine red and buff-colored sandstone, probably Vindhyan. Red argillaceous shales also occur, resembling the beds seen in the Chanda district around Méngli; and as they should not be much more than 400 feet above the
coal measures, judging by the evidence of the Win
eyecrzonof Ménglirep- hole, the horizon in the series allotted to the reptile-bed at Ma&ngli is probably not too low.
A belt of glluvinm surrounds the Kémthis of Balfr hill and Wiin, con- cealing the continuity of their extension to the south, east, and west; but at Sirpuir the red shales and typical sandstones of the series are again seen—yellowish-brown felspathic silicious sandstones with iron bands, and argillaceous sandstones. Many of the latter are highly ferruginous, and in places are almost crimson in tint. Small quantities of the brighter
( 75 )
Wain.
Balér hill.
76 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
portions of the beds are extracted, and then ground into fine powder, which is used to ornament the persons of the natives and their repre- sentations of their gods. Some of the iron bands yield as much as 85 per cent. of iron.
The dip of the beds near Sirpir is not more than 8° to south-west ; but near the boundary of the Vindhyan limestones the angle of inclination increases to 18° and 23°, and even higher. This evidence of disturbance, combined with the fact that none of the lower formations are exposed along the border of the field, renders it highly probable that the western boundary is a faulted one.
South of Sirpir are the Malégarh hills, whose highest summit is one of the most elevated points to which the te eeiterons sand: K émthis rise within the Wiin division of the field. They are composed of fine granular sandstones of varying colors, sub-vitreous variegated sandstones, pink argillaceous shales, and a few conglomerate bands. Some of the sandstones are slight- ly manganiferous of a dark color. General direction of dip, south-west. The main hill is nearly 2 miles across, and presents a moderately steep face on all sides. The sandstones to the west, which are in contact with the Vindhyan limestones, are, as has been previously explained, a portion of that series, and not of the Kémthis.
The manganese ore to which I drew attention in the secords of our survey occurs in red clays at the base of Malaégarh Hill, on its east side, These clays alternating with others, and occasional calcareous and ordinary sandstones, extend down to the K4&warsa stream, in whose banks they are well exposed. The ore is most abundant near the hill, but throughout the entire series of
Sirpfr.
Manganese ore.
these clays, it is present in limited quantity ; sometimes in concretionary lumps of moderate richness, but more generally sparsely distributed in strings and irregular lamine that appear to bind the clay into masses of indefinite shape.
( 76 )
KAMTHI. ) 77
Of the fossil plants from K4&warsa, including Phyllotheca Indica ; Schizoneura ; Glossopteris Browniana, var. Indica ; Kéwarsa fossil plants. ; and Glossopteris Browniana, var. Australasica ; some were found in a slightly carbonaceous shale, cropping out in the right bank of the river north of the village; and others in a grey argil- laceous shale near the junction of the two rivers below Kéwarsa. Carbon- aceous matter is so very rare in the Kdmthis that the occurrence of even slightly carbonaceous shale is a noteworthy circumstance. A boring was put down through it, to see whether it was the presage of coal; but there was no definite result, the hole only having been carried to a depth of 88 feet, and then abandoned owing to the chisel sticking at every stroke. The section was—
Ft. In. 1. Yellow clay ase oes one «. 11 0 2. Yellow and grey clay oes ave wo 4 0 3. Yellow ferruginous clay ane eee .. 12 0 4. Light-bluish clay eee eee .« 10 0 5. Variegated bluish clay 1 0 6. Carbonaceous shale 23 O 7. Yellow sandstone micaceous ... 1 0 8. Carbonaceous shale ane ses 7 0 9. Grey-bluish clay ove ees 19 0
In the same beds as the plants, Estherias were found; and another discovery of them was made near Pinwat by Mr. Blanford, in reddish- yellow argillaceous sandstone similar to that at Mangli. There is a heavy development of clays around Maldgarh Hill, and I look upon them as distinct from the beds at Parsora, being several hundred feet higher in the series. They are traceable by indications of red soil for nearly two miles north-west of K4warsa, and for as many to the south- east. .
The breadth of the Kémthis narrows very much opposite Paramdéo, ‘and they are entirely cut out by the faults which let in the Vindhyan
limestones on the right bank of. the Pém Ganga, west of Kéroa. ( a7 )
78 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The only other representatives of the Kémthi series to notice in the Wiin district are those bordering the Wardha,
wil Probatly be food and extending across from Suini to Kélgaon on terre Saini and KS- the Pém Ganga, and they may be dismissed with the brief statement that they belong to the lower
division of the sandstones; and that within the area colored on the map, up to the boundary of the alluvium, ooal will probably be found at
a depth not exceeding 500 feet.
Nizam’s Dominions.
The Kémthis that cross the Pém Ganga at Kélgaon extend for a distance of six miles into the Nizam’s Dominions, tailing out in the vicinity of the deserted villages of Tarori and Pipalgaon. They present no features of special interest.
The great Chénda area is continued at Sfsti, and the Kémthis stretch to the western boundary and are in contact with the Vindhyan shales from Chicholi to Khamona. From this point the Télchfrs are the border rocks for a considerable distance, and the Kémthis sweep round by Arwi, JégSpér and Wirdr, occupying the right bank of the Wardha as far as the little stream between Chicholi and Antargaon. They come in again south of Anir, and constitute the hill range to Hirsni. I have not traced them in that direction further than the point where the coal- seam five feet in thickness crops out in the face of the hill, but I believe they extend to Metindfni, and occupy the valley of the Merpali and Raonnali River. From a cursory inspection that I made, the high land
and Jangaon road appears to be made of K&mthis, sible within the time at my disposal to work out the e of a country so deserted, so rugged, and so waterless ; ve the description of the constitution of this grea for aing the geological details of the Géndwéna rocks in todévari valleys.
KAMTHI, 79
The sandstones about R&jir are mostly of the friable open order, with
| occasional iron bands, and thin-bedded vitreous sili-
arpilibocous ehalen. = red cious sandstones. There is a total absence of red
argillaceous shales and sandstones such as are found
in the north of the field (in the Chanda district and near Wn), and there are apparently no clays.
A moderately fair section of the K4mthis is seem in the Wardha. Section of the River he highest rocks are those in the reach opposite ardha. Katwali, and here one or two small bands of dark-
looking sandstone are colored by manganese. From this point, down the river, coarse, white, yellow and brown sandstones are met with, many of of which when hastily examined might be supposed to be Barékars, but they are not so compact as rocks of that group are ; and now and again the ferruginous bands which are a very good index of the K4mthis are seen.
On the left side of the Wardha, between Nardhtri and Tohogaon, where some sandstones crop out, dipping east-north- east to north-east, two stems of fossil trees were observed a short way inland. One of them is very large, being three feet
Tohogaon fossil trees.
across; the other is small. I cannot connect these stems with the Kém- this, as they were lying on the bare surface of the rocks, and had evident- ly been transported from the original bed in which they were once enclosed. Hazarding an opinion as to the formation they belong to, I believe they are either of Laméta or intertrappean age,—most probably Laméta, as many blocks of fossil-wood have been found in the deposits of that period. Sandstones occur near Sindi having a semi-Barhkar appearance, but their brownish color and a few straggling iron Bemtiht sandstone lke bands are indications of Kémthis. A seam of coal was reported to exist at Sindi; but unless the
mineral character of the Kémthi series has strangely altered, no coal could ( 79 )
80 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIRLD. possibly occur. I believe that by boring to a moderate depth coal might be reached, as the sandstones do not belong to the higher horizons.
Opposite Arwi are compact quartzose felspathic sandstones with scattered graius of quartz and felspar, giving
Arwi. them a porphyritic look. They weather into mam- tree ol at Ghigds hose millary surfaces. At the mouth of the Wejgaon
River, friable, brown-streaked felspathic sandstones like that immediately over the coal at Ghigds occurs. To the south of this there is a fine reach of water, and opposite Suréndi compact sandstones recur. Below them in the series are friable brown sandstones. These rocks are very close to the bottom of the Kaémthis, but I have associated with them the grey felspathic silicious slightly calcareous ‘sandstone that flanks the deep pool north-west of Léthi, and some that occur a little way farther down the river. A slight change in the direc- tion of the dip is observable, where I have drawn the boundary between the Barékars and the K4mthis to that which obtains at the L&thi- Chicholi gh&t ; but, as the intermediate section is not a continuous one, much stress cannot be laid upon such a circumstance.
The dip of the strata at L&thi is much higher than it is at any other point in the river’s course, but I infer nothing from the incident, and merely state it as a fact. Asa rule the dips are easy.
The prospect of proving coal at a moderate depth throughout the
area of Kémthis embraced between the Wardha
cole of proving and the western boundary of the series in the
Nizam’s Dominions, is a very favorable one, and if
this division of the field be ever opened up in future years, it will be a valuable possession.
The K&mthis south of Anir rise into high and massive-looking hills,
having only a slight dip to the south. They
Antr fossil plants, . consist of sandstones and shales. In some of
80 )
KOTA-MALERI. 81
the latter there is a great abundance of plant impressions, hut they belong to only a few species,—Phyllatkeca Indica, Schizoneura sp., Glosspteris Browniana, Glossopteris leptoneura.. These are charac- teristic of the upper portion of the Damida series in Bengal, and there can be little doubt that the rocks south of Andér belong to our K4mthi division, and not to the Bar&kars.
Near Urkdli (Wurkoolee), east and a little south of Anir, sand- stones occur that might readily be mistaken for Vindhyans. They are of a rusty brown color, and are more granular in texture than the ordinary Kémthi sandstones. They are also more ferruginous, and have, as it were, a rougher look. I have classed them with the Kémthis, as there is no stratigraphical evidence to show that they are anything else but
members of that series.
East of Sirptr there are rocks which may possibly be of Kamthi age. I am inclined to think, however, that they are of a more recent period, for though most of the strata may be matched by the various K4mthi types in different parts of the area already described, ferruginous hands, conglomerates, and shaly beds are of much more frequent occurrence than is ordinarily the case in the K&mthi group ; the pebbles also in many of the conglomerates are unlike those that usually occur, being of white and yellowish white pellucid quartz, such as are met with in the conglomerates of the Upper Panchéts described in the memoir of the Réniganj field.* These rocks extend down the valley of the Pranhita, and form the high land over- looking the left bank of the river in the Siréncha district.
Questionable KAmthis,
Section [X.—K6ta-Maért Group.
In the Records of the Geological Survey of India,t Dr. Oldham in
® Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, Vol. III. + Records, Geological Survey of India, 1871, Vol. IV, page 74. ( Sl )
82 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAI-FIELD.
1871 described rocks that cropped out in the River Wardha near Porsa,* and which he distinguished as a series differing from the K4émthis. He also pointed out the likelihood of their association with the Maléri beds to the south in which numerous remains of the very curious and inter- esting Hyperodapedon, Parasuchus, besides teeth of Ceratodus, and some undetermined fragments occur.
This surmise has been confirmed; and in addition the remarkable beds near Kéta on the Pranhita, which have yielded several well-marked fish remains, considered Liassic in their relations, have been determined to be members of the same group.
In designating the beds thus associated as the Kéta-Maléri group, two well-known names have been selected—a circumstance which it is considered will better sustain the interest in the literary associations connected with the beds than the choice of another name would have done.
The fossiliferous areas of Kéta and Maléri are both beyond the limits of the Wardha Valley, and therefore I shall only allude to them and to one or two other localities to the extent necessary to make my remarks upon the chronological relations of the group clear.
The following is the description of the lithological and petrological features of the group. The most distinctive petrological feature they present is the abundance of red and green clays and argillaceous sand- stones, and it is the occurrence of these rocks at the horizon they occupy that reminds us of somewhat similar conditions existing in the Bengal coal-fields, where above a mass of sandstones (Réniganj)—which, how- ever, were coal-bearing—a series of red and green clays and associated sandstones (Panchét) succeeds, just as red and green clays and associated sandstones here follow the K&mthis. Theclays might well be Panchéts, but among the sandstones there is an entire absence of any like the soft
On the Chénda and Siréncha road, opposite Sirpér (Nizam’s Dominions) and6 milos .
( 8 )
K6TA-MALERI. . 83
yellowish-green micaceous beds that are as characteristic of the Panchéte as are the clays.
The most distinctive sandstones of the group near the base are, fine and coarse-grained argillaceous beds, greenish grey in color, with streaks and blotches of red; dark- grey felspathic silicious sandstones with numerous green clay-galls; brownish black splendent sandstones slightly calcareous, also with green galls; and red, yellow, and white false-bedded fine-grained soft sand- stones, easily crumbling between the fingers.*
Higher in the series, these sandstones are gradually replaced by beds bearing a closer resemblance to the ordinary Kémthi type. They are coarse, loosely compacted sandstones of a brownish red color, with broken rans of pink and white shale fragments through them. Extremely firm sandstones, made up of alternating bands of fine pink silicious shale and
Sandstones,
coarse vitreous quartz grains; reddish brown and white coarse false- bedded sandstones with prominent white blotches and runs of pebbles; ordinary silicio-felspathic sandstones of varying colors; and occasionally a calcareous argillaceous sandstone generally mottled pink, white, and brown which in some parts is conglomeritic.
The red and green clays usually occur in thin beds, and are more abundant at the base of the group than in the
aye. higher horizons. Associated with the clays are the fossiliferous beds of limestone in which
fish remains were discovered at Kéta. ‘They do
Limestone. not occur in any strength, but they are important, as an indication of position on account of their persistency throughout
a long distance. They are generally of a light buff color.
Distribution. In the Wardha, the beds of this group are first seen between Soné-
® Their surfaces are often pitted. ( 83 )
84 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
ptir and Pérea, on the left bank of the river, dip- ping at a low angle in an easterly direction, but they are better exposed on the other eide near Enkatpir. Combining the sections visible om both banks of the river, the following are the rocks: fine-grained sandy beds, light-grey with streaks and blotches of red, occasional large particles of felspar scattered through the mass; beds coarser than the former, somewhat pisolitic, considerably argillaceous; greenish grey fine-grained esilicio-argillaceous sandstones slightly calcareous, with green clay-galls. Above these beds, and jutting some way into the river alittle below Enkatptir, isa compact grey sandstone that at some distance off looks like a Barékar rock, but on breaking it, green and red clay galls are found in it. These clay galls are very decisive indices. A peculiar sandstone that occurs is a frosty-looking bed, preparing, as it were to effloresce. Color, greyish white,
Wardha River.
The red and green clays are not so prominent at Enkatpfir as lower down the Wardha near Sakmiir, and inland from that village in the Bépér nala. A fair though disconnected section of the group is seen in that river. There is no definite dip, and this remark applies to a large extent of area over which the Kéta-Maléri series is developed.
Red and green clays in separate beds and intermixed in lenticular patches in the same hed, sandstones with a granular texture greyish green or greenish grey in color, with small dashes of red clay, and white unctuous sand- stones, are the most conspicuous rocks to the eye in the B&pGr nala.
The endeavour to trace these beds into contact with the K&mthis of the Débha hills (Halgéba, Témta, Chéki, &.) was defeated by the fact that barren ground always intervened between the two series.
BépGr nala,
I may here remark that of all the coal-basins which it has been my fortune to survey, in none have my anticipations been so often
dashed as in this one. Just when one-half mile, and sometimes ( 84 )
KOTA-MALERI. 85
a much less length, of clear section would have thrown light on many an important point, either it happened that alluvium obscured the sur- face, or sands hid the rocks in the rivers. In the north of the field, especially when there was pressing necessity to trace the extension of the coal-measures during the early period of its survey, the fragmentary character of the sections was a constantly recurring source of dis- appointment.
I did not observe any unconformity of dip of the Kéta-Maléri strata Stratigraphical relation to those of the Kémthi, but there is distinct over. to Kamthi group. lapping—a feature which, with more opportu- nity of investigation in the Pranhita and ite tributary valleys where the rocks of this group are most fully developed, may be found to in-
dicate upheaval and denudation of the K4mthis.
The organic remains yielded by this group have been discovered in greatest abundance near the villages of Kéta and Maléri, but several localities besides these have been found to be fossiliferous,—namely, Itfla, Achl4pir, Wigaon, Golé- gata, Kasnfpali, Naniéla, Katan&pali, and Anéram, all of which are beyond the borders of the Wardha Valley field.
Organic remains.
The red clay beds are those which have most richly rewarded search, and from them and one or other of the lenticular layers of greyish green granular argillaceous sandstones intercalated with them, were "procured the greater number of fossils collected during the operations of the survey.
These have not yet been submitted to a thorough scrutiny, and it is at present uncertain what proportion of new forms they may include. Probably, however, when closely examined, some species, in addition to those already described or alluded to by Sir Phillip Egerton and the Rev. S. Hislop, in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of
London, and by Dr. Oldham in our own Memoirs, will be established. ( 85 )
86 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The known genera comprising the fauna of the group are—Zstheria, Lepidotus, Hehmodue, and Ceratodus ; Parasuchus,
Fauna.
and Hyperodapedon.
The fish, Lepidotus and Aichmodua, ‘represented by almost entire skeletons, are from Kota exclusively. They were discovered by Dr. Walker in 1850 during the excavation of a shaft that was commenced with the intention of sinking to coal supposed to occur near the village. This surmise being based upon a misapprehension, no coal was found. .
Ceratodus, represented by teeth only, was first discovered by the Rev. Mr. Hislop’s collector Vira, at Maléri, and it is from that locality alone that any teeth have been obtained. They occur most abundantly where the red clays are seen west-south-west of the village, near the boundary of the deserted site of Illfram, and this yeer I procured 43 specimens from an area a little over half an acre in extent.
The reptiles, Parasuchus, and Hyperodapedon, represented by scutes, teeth, jaws, and bones, are more generally distributed, but none have as yet been found at Kéta.
I have not met with any published information respecting the flora ; Flora. and I believe the only authentic specimens of
plants are the very few which Mr. King and my- self procured. They were identified by Dr. Feistmantel as—
1. Palissya conferta. 2. Palissya Jabalpurensis. 8. Araucarites Kachensis.
The first of these is a specific representative of one in the R4jmeh4l group; the second is referrable to a species in the Jabalpir group ; and the third is the Araucarites of the Kach plant-beds.
We thus have associated in the same group plants of our Indian Jabalpir, Kach, and Réjmehél groups, and animals, which, if judged by European analogy, are certainly not younger than the age of the Lias.
( 86 )
. LAMETA. 87
Secrion X.—Laméta Group,
Resting upon the Kémthis in the northern portions of the field, on either side of the Wardha, and almost invariably accompanied by over- lying trap, is a series of beds consisting of clays, sandstones and lime- stones, which have been determined as of Laméta age.
There is not a single clear section of these rocks in any part of the field, and the limits of the large area shown in the Chanda district ex- tending from Khémji to P&nchgaon have been arrived at by framing a few isolated patches. At P{sdura the section is very obscure, and the same remark applies to Dongargaon and J&mgaon—all three fossil localities.
The clays are usually greenish, or some shade of red, and resemble very closely those of the Kéta-Maléri group. They
Clays. form a continuous portion of the series.
The sandstones as a rule are marly, somewhat loose, greenish or purplish-white in color, and occur in beds vary- Sandstones. . a . . .
ing from 2 to 5 feet in thickness. An exception
to this variety is a rock having a partially vitreous appearance on its fractured surface, slightly calcareous, and rough externally. It is diffi- cult at first sight to distinguish it from the sub-recent sandstones, and had I not met with it, accompanied by characteristic Laméta limestone
I should probably have mapped isolated vutcrops as such.
After examining many specimens of it however, I found that small ' particles of red felspar, were distinctive of the older rock, and that their absence and the presence of comminuted fragments of trap were distinctive of the newer sandstone.
The limestones are occasionally very pure, but more frequently they contain distinguishable particles of silicious mat- ter, and lenticular plates of segregated chert.
These are the characteristic rocks by which the identity of the group ( 87 )
Limestones.
8S HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
‘was made out. They resemble the typical Laméta limestones in the Jabalpdr district. Of the less common varieties of limestones, one exhibits a cone-in-cone structure; another, a honeycomb arrangement; and some of them are built up on a curious kind of net-work plan, through which strings of different-colored limestone pass. Thin, earthy, calcareous beds, and arragonites also occur.
At various times the Lamétas have yielded very abundant collections of fossils, and one of the most noted localities is that of Pisdfira. This was one of the spots dis- covered by Hislop, and in his paper “On the Tertiary Deposite asso- ciated with Trap Rock in the East Indies”’* he enumerates “ bones of large Pachyderms, Coprolites of various sizes; Saurian teeth; vertebra of a large fish ; and fragments of the plastron of a fresh-water ¢urtle;” and inter-trappean shells, ‘“ Paludina normalise; Paludina Wapsharei, Lim- x@a oviformis and Physa Prinsepit var inflata.”
In the Quarterly Journal for 1864,f further mention is made of the discovery of bones. “One femur upwards of a foot broad at the con- dyles,’ and one vertebra about 7 inches across.
Following in Hislop’s footsteps, I succeeded in also procuring some bones ; coprolites, and the shells mentioned by him. The bones comprise portions of limbs, and vertebra. They were all much broken and looked rolled. Of the vertebra only the centra occur. Of the long bones, the ends with the processes worn off. The coprolites do not appear to have been subjected to any violent motion.
The locality for these fossils is a field at the southern extremity of Pisdtira hill, and they occur on the surface, having been turned up by the ploughing of the land. The most conspicuous beds are red clays, but the ordinary-type sandstones may be seen in a small shallow stream a few yards south of the road leading to Khémji.
Pisditira.
* Quarterly Journal, Geological Society, London, 1860, Volume XVI, page 163. ¢t Quarterly Journal, Geological Society, London, 1864, Volume XX, page 282. ( 88 )
LAMETA. 89
All the fossils are apparently derived from the red clays, but the shells are hard silicious casts, such as it is improbable should be met with in clay, and it is possible that they have been washed down into the low-lying ground from an inter-trappean bed; being moreover the species familiarly known in these. This bed, however, I could not find, s0 that the suggestion as to their being foreign to the clay is open to question.
The Lamétas crop out from under the trap on all sides of Pisdtra hill, and fragments of arragonite occur here and there. The continua- tion at the north-west corner is obscured by grass and alluvium.
The characteristic limestone is seen near Kotebfra and Khémji over- lying beds similar to those at Pisdtra. It is strongly developed, and extends to the village of Wardha.
The largest area mapped as Lamétas, is that extending from Ségaon to Panchgaon. Sections are very broken. Red soil is abundant, and it is evidently derived from red clays. These have been assigned to the Lamétas. Asa rule the clays are too disintegrated to afford any clue to their relations ; but at Agar-S4gar (Agra-Sagar) they are not so broken, and they are found associated with distinctive Laméta sandstones.
The usual cherty limestone occurs at Agar-Sagar, and it is also seen at Dh&mni and Pauna. At the two latter places it occurs in force, and forms a well-defined ridge of a few feet in height.
I had the advantage, whilst traversing the area allotted to the Lamétas, of being accompanied by my colleague Mr. Fedden, and in all instances where any doubt arose regarding the position to be assigned to the various outcrops of red clays, sandstones, and limestones, we consulted together. The advantage of being able to do so was felt on several occa- sions, and especially so at Dhfmni, where Mr. Fedden discovered some fish remains. It was of
high importance to determine the relation of the shales in which they ( 89 )
é
Dhbémni.
90 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
oceurred, to the limestone that was associated with them, and we jointly
surveyed the critical portion of the section. The conclusion we arrived at was, that there are two beds of limestone, an upper and a lower, and
between them occurs a succession of white argillaceous shales in which fish, a number of small shells, and Cypride were found. It is not possi- ble to distinguish lithologically between these shales and some occurring amongst the inter-trappeans, but their position between limestones possessing the mineral features of the typical Laméta limestone of Jabalpiir shews that they must be classed with that series. _ The fish, which are about the size of sardines, were taken to England for identification, but the slabs in which they occurred were unfor- tunately not carefully enough padded, the fish were injured, and their affinities could not be determined.
The fish beds of Dh&mni are represented near Dongargaon; and Hislop alludes to the discovery of a specimen* “‘which consists of a head, with a long muzzle armed with formidable sauroid teeth, and rows of smaller ones,”’ and which “Sir P. Egerton considers to be allied to the Sphyrenodus of the London clay.” We were not successful in procuring any specimens from this locality. The strata are somewhat more calcareous here than at Dh4émni.
No Lamétas have been met with in the Nizam’s Dominions; but in the Wan District they occupy the ground between Wanjra and Wargaon, and the strip from Nimbéra to Chichéra. None of the typical limestone occurs, but the extra varieties alluded to in the descriptive summary are developed south of Wargaon.
The beds near Nimbéra are red and green clays and thin-bedded sandstones. A short but instructive section of the clays is seen at the outlet corner of the tank. They look like Télchir mud beds, but their position proves that they are in no way connected with that series.
Dongargaon.
* Quarterly Journal, Geological Society, London, 1860, Volume XVI, page 163. ( 90 )
TRAP.—LATERITE, 91
There are several small inliers of Lamétas which it is unnecessary to allude to separately, as they can be readily recognised by reference to the map.
Srorion XI.—TRAp.
I have but little to say of the traps, for only in so far as they form- ed either the limiting boundary of the field, or occurred capping the sedimentary rocks within the compass of the field, did they come under my notice. Intertrappean beds are only exposed to a small extent in isolated patches. No attempt was ever made to trace’ them for any distance, their occurrence merely being noted. Most of the representative beds are thin flaggy shales, red and green clays, and highly silicions aggregated masses. They may be met with adven- titiously throughout any part of the trap formation. They are not con- fined to any special horizon.
The traps are most abundant in the north-western portion of the field. A long tongue projects from the main body at Panjorni and extends across to Sorlah and Jémgaon, and there are outliers at Pisdira Ainsa, Dongargaon and Nandtri. Trap also occurs at Karamgohan, and it crosses the Wardha into the Win District, where it overlies several square miles of K4mthi rocks. There are no detached caps on the right side of the river.
A most remarkable circumstance connected with the relation of the coal-bearing rocks to the trap is, that there is not one instance of intrusion. The trap is everywhere overflowing. In the Bengal and - S4tpdra coal-fields there are innumerable ramifications of igneous rock through the coal measures and Panchéts.
Section XII.—Lareritz. SvuRPACE DEPOSITS. Massive rock-laterite only occurs within the field on a few hills to the north-east of Bhéndak, but thin beds and laterite gravel are scattered in patches over the country.
( 91 )
Laterite.
92 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
Some of these are quarried for metalling the Trunk Road. The most extensive deposit is that near the Police lines at Chanda; minor areas occur at Kadholi, Burénj, Sakarwai, &. Beyond the field many of the hills south-east of Muhl, and some of the peaks of the Manikgarh range, are capped by laterite. It is well and distinctly stratified, and contains small fragments of quartz.
Under this head are included, in addition to surface soil or alluvium, all the deposits forming the sub-recent sandstones, . gravels and conglomerates: that are seen in the banks of the Wardha. They might, if only cursorily examined, be often mistaken for rocks of much older date than they really are; but there is one feature which enables them to be readily distinguished, and that is the presence of pieces of trap and agates, jasper and other intertrappean débris,
Fragments of bones were noticed in the coarse sub-recent sandstone at Kéna, and also in hard calcareous conglomerate at Ahiri (Wun District). These beds do not extend far from the river; they are confined to a limited margin on each side of the Wardha, and were evidently deposited by the river itself. They are not usually of any considerable thickness, but at Kéna they are fully 40 feet.
Besides these rocks just alluded to, there are some fine loose sandy silts, light-brown and grey in color, which underlie the ossiferous series. They are very obliquely laminated. In the Chénda district I only met with them in the Chopan nala, They yield salt.
The general character of the surface soil of the Wardha valley is a tenacious brown clay, with nodules of kunkur. It varies, however, in color and consistence, being
Surface deposite.
Bones.
lack and sometimes containing a large proportion of sand. ) most important variety agriculturally is that known as “ regar,
wil or cotton soil.” It is very adhesive when wetted and is very ( 9 )
SURFACE DEPOSITS. 93
absorbent, expanding and contracting to a remarkable extent under the alternate influence of moisture and dryness. It retains a good deal of moisture, and therefore requires less irrigation than other soils. It occurs more or Jess continuously along the Wardha, bordering both sides of the river for some miles in breadth.
The brown soils are more sandy, as a rule, than the black soil, and contain more kankar. They constitute a large portion of the area marked as alluvium. Red soils are met with here and there. They have not been washed into their present positions, but are due to the distintegration of underlying clays. '
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CHAPTER Iii.
IDENTIFICATION AND RELATIONS OF THE ROCK GROUPS.
Vindhyan Series.—This series was first recognised in the valley of the Wardha by Mr. Blanford, and was shown by him to occupy a very large area beyond the bounds of the coal field. It extends far to the south, and has been identified by Mr. King as the Karntl series of the Madras Presidency.
Talchir Group.—There can be no question regarding the identifi- cation of this group, it being characterised by the same features in the Wardha valley as in Bengal and elsewhere. The confirmation of Mr. Blanford’s original supposition as to the mode in which the boulder bed was accumulated, is one of the most important results which has rewarded the labors of the Survey, and the prevalence of glacial conditions in a remote geological period over a large portion of the Indian Peninsula must be admitted.
From the few fossils that have been found in the Télchirs, it is evident that they are of fresh-water origin and probably fluviatile. This hypothesis, rather than a lacustrine origin, preserves the general analogy of the conditions under which the other members of the Gondwana series were deposited ; the Damidas and Panchéts, as pointed out in previous Memoirs, being most probably river deposits.
Barékar Group.—As with the Télchirs, so in the case of the Barfékar group, the lithological resemblance of the rocks containing the thick coal in this field to those of the Damida valley Bar&kars cannot be doubted.
Kémtht Groap.—The deposits classed under this head are identical
with those described by Mr. Blanford in his Memoir on the Geology of ( 94 )
IDENTIFICATION AND RELATIONS OF THE ROOK GROUPS. 95
Négptir. They are distinct in lithological characters from the ironstone shales and R&niganj divisions of the Damidda series in the east, but the fossil plant-remains which have been discovered in them and deter- mined by Dr. Feistmantel shew them to be the representative in time of these groups.
“The single Labyrinthodont reptile from Méngli affords no certain clue to the correlation of the beds in which it occurs.
I am not aware, and I think it was impossible to tell, owing to the imperfections of the sections, at what horizon in the K&émthi series the plant-remains procured near and around the station of Kémthi were obtained. In the Wardha valley, the specimens by which the affinity of the Kémthi and Réniganj groups was pointed out were derived from the lower beds of the Kaémthis. None were found in the higher strata. There is thus left an upper horizon, which being as yet barren of evidence connecting it with the Réniganj epoch, may be assumed as the represen- tative in part or in whole of the Panchét period.
I think it probable that this assumption may turn out to be a correct one, unless it be eventually shewn that the Kéta—Maléri beds are the equivalents of the Panchéts.
Kéta-Malérs group.—As far as the evidence at present accumulated may be depended upon, the Kéta-Malén group is younger than the Panchét series of Bengal, the plante that it contains being of Jabalptr and R4jmehfl age, and the fauna exhibiting weaker European triassic affinities than that of the Panchét series.
In this field the Kétd-Maléri beds are the highest representatives of the Gondwana series, and they are provisionally placed between the Rgj- mehél and Panchét groups, as the oldest members of the Upper Gond- wanas (see table, page 9).
Dr. Feistmantel, in a paper contained in the last issue of the Records of the Survey, has endeavoured to shew that judging by the flora of ( 9% )
96 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
the Lower Gondwaina series, it represents in Indian geological homotaxis _the period of the Trias in Europe. He connects the Panchét with the Raéniganj flora through Schzzoneura Gondwanensis, and this again with that of the Bardkar through the genus Clossopteris, while that of the T4lchir is united with that of the Bardkar through Gangamopteris cyclopterotdes.
The Panchét group has always, since its fossils were determined, been considered as probably Triassic, but the Rdniganj, ironstone shales. Barékar and Télchir groups have hitherto been thonght to be possibly older : the stratigraphical unconformity of the Panchéts to the under- lying R&niganj beds suggesting the view. The general facies, how- ever, of the plant-remains of the Lower Gondwana series, Dr. Feistmantel maintains to be Triassic, and not Palswozoic. In the absence, therefore, of the more reliable data that would have been afforded by marine fossils we may accept his conclusion, awarding such measure of value as an ad- herence to the doctrine of ‘European affinity the test of age” may allow.
Laméta group.—The identification of the Laméta group rests upon the recognition of limestone resembling that which is supposed to be the typical rock near Jabalpir, and also upon the similarity of fossil remains. The synonymous term for Laméta given by Mr. Blanford— ‘ Infra-trappean”—expresses its relationship to the trap; and that it is closely connected with that series is shewn by its mode of occurrence (the outlines of its outcrops conforming in a noticeable manner to those of the trap), and by the discovery of a fossiliferous band underlying the Dhémni fish-beds that contained the characteristic Unzos of the inter-
trappean series.
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CHAPTER IV. ECONOMIC. Section XIII.—Coat.
Quantity—We may assume that underlying the K4&mthis there is coal, but it would be a hazardous thing to give an opinion as to its limits, in face of the fact that the measures are overlapped. On this account I shall not attempt to offer any decisive opinion as to the total quantity of coal in the Chanda district ; but will confine my remarks to only such portions of the field in which coal has been shewn to exist.
Beginning with the Warora basin, it appears from a memorandum supplied to me by Mr. Ness early in 1874, that at
Warora basin. . that time—
Proved area of coal ... ase oes ee 420 acres. Average thickness of coal ove ase aes 12 feet. One foot in thickness gives per acre oes ose 1,450 tons. Quantity of coal—=420 x 12 x 1,450 ose we 7,800,009 gy Allow for loss in working, 30 per cent. ove we. 2,190,000 _,,
Total coal available « 6,110,000 _,,
More recent estimates based upon the evidence of the latest borings raise the quantity of coal to 20 millions, which I think is quite within the mark. A certain amount of latitude must be allowed for the accur- acy of any calculation that attempts to shew how many millions of tons are stocked under ground, for the borings do not indicate that there is a constant thickness of coal. By taking 12 feet only, however, exagger- ation cannot be imputed to the estimate.
The extension of the basin to the south can only be assumed. Bore~-
hole UI, which is to the south of all the others, proved 47'-6" of coal : ( 97 )
98 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIRLD.
and shale at 283’-6” from the surface; and I think it probable that borings still further to the south in the direction of Saimbal would be successful. Should such be the case, the estimate of 20 millions would swell to 60 or 100 millions, Predicting the occurrence of coal, however, anywhere under the alluvium, exposes one’s opinion to the liability of being wrong, for there is no surety that the coal has not been denuded, or bas not died out ; or that the under-series have not been brought up by a roll.
At Méjri the eastern limit of the coal may be indicated by a line passing the bore-hole a little to the rise, and uniting Kauri and Saimbal. We have consequently the area between this line and the Wardha as probable coal land; and if we allow 8 square miles, and 30 feet of coal, we shall be moderate.
Télw&sa may be dismissed from our calculation, for though coal
was proved there, the area for working in is not extensive enough. The Ghfgés field is about 3 square miles, to which 80 feet of ccal, as at Méjri, may be allowed, which will give 90,000,000 tons. Deducting one-half that must be lost in working, 45 millions would be the available quantity.
It will be seen that the borings in the Ch&nda district have not proved anything like a large quantity of coal ; but the requirements of India are so small that one year’s raisings in England would supply this country with all its coal for a century.
On the Wiin side of the Wardha, a much larger area has been tested than on the Chanda side, and the coal has been proved to be much less irregularly distributed
under the Kémthis. This circumstance renders it possible fo compute to a a moderate degree of nicety the total amount of coal in the Win “* + ™ + y the portion of the field covered by trap and allu- to Réngna, all to the east of the line joining
1, Yel6ra, Nflja Beléra and Kvmb&ri, the tract
‘Télwisa basin.
Ghagés basin,
Wan district.
ECONOMIC. 99
south of Sdékri, and the Talchirs and Bardkars, there remain fally 80 square miles of probable productive coal lands. An average of 15 feet may be admitted for 20 square miles, and 30 feet for sixty miles, making a total of 2,100 millions of tons.
Direct evidence of the occurrence of coal has been obtained through- out 18 miles of country from Win to P&ptir; and for 10 miles from Jingra to Chicholi (opposite Nékéra), and assuming as available all that can be won at 500 feet, we shall have between Wun and P&éptir—7 square miles, average thickness 15 feet—105 millions of tons of coal. Deducting half for loss in working, 50 millions of tons remain. Between Jinfra and Chicholi, 6 square miles, average thickness 30 feet=150 millions of tons of coal. Deducting one-half as above, we have 75 millions of tons. I do not uphold my estimates as being unassailable, for there is a wonderful protean power in figures when dealing with total and available quantities of coal; but I believe the above numbers re- present the minimum available tons of coal at a depth of 500 feet in the area to which they refer.
The coal seam in the Nizam’s dominions near SAsti and Paoni has only been proved over a small area. One and a half square miles is the utmost that can be ad- mitted, but an average of 40 feet of coal may be taken. This gives 60 millions as the total quantity, or 80 millions as available.
Composition.—The following analyses illustrate the composition of
S4sti and Paoni basins.
the coal from various portions of the field :—
No. 1. Warora.—Samples from the lower portion of the seam in which levels were being driven (June 1874). An average of the whole was taken, and examined by Mr. Tween in our office with the following result :—
Fixed Carbon wee ves ase 45°4 Combustible volatile matter ove we 26°65 Sulphur in coal, 2°85 per cent. Water expelled at 212°F. ‘eee ee 13°9 Ash eee eee eee eee 14°23 100-0
( 99 )
100 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
The moisture is shewn as it should be, constituting a portion of the coal. To drive off the water at 212°F., and then estimate the percentage of fixed carbon, volatile matter and ash, gives a wrong idea of the present value of the coal.
No. 2. Warora.—An analysis by Mr. Ness of a sample from the 5th foot of the same seam whence I procured mine, gave :—
Fixed carbon eee eee ove 43-70 Combustible volatile matter ove ove 33-76 Sulphar in coal, 0-25 par cont. Water expelled at 212°F. eve ose 9°65 Ash eee eee eee eee 13°00 Specific gravity, 1°30. 10000
No. 8. Warora.—The two following analyses are also by Mr. Ness of ‘two samples from the upper 4 feet of the seam, taken promiscuously.” The first happened to be a dull “ splinty” sample, which constitutes the greater proportion of the seam, and the latter a bright “‘cherry” sample, which yielded much more volatile or gaseous matter than the former.* ” The moisture was first driven off, and then the percentages were—
Splinty coal. Cherry coal, Fixed Carbon ove eos oo. 670 48°0 Ash ose oe oo 145 140 100°0 100°0
ae quae
Télwdsa.—The average of the assays made on samples brought up in the pump from No. 2 Télw&sa bore-hole was—
Fixed carbon oee oe0e eee eee 43°94 Volatile matter (including water) .. 3. 3315 Ash TY) ose oo —° eee 2291
100°00
* Gasette of India, Supplement, 1874, page 1858. ( 100 )
ECONOMIC. 101
From the 19th to the 34th foot, inclusive, the composition of the coal is—
Feet. Oarbon. Volatile. Ash. *19th 48°9 30°6 20°5 20th 49°4 30°4 20°3 21st 60°3 33°4 , 16°3 22nd 440 31°8 242 23rd 50°4 31°8 17°8 24th 60°2 33°0 168 25th 46°7 32°6 20°7 26th 61°4 30°6 18°0. 27th §1°3 30°6 18°1 28th 512 $2'2 166 29th 63°0 30°4 16°6 80th 5238 33°4 143 Slst §2°0 320 16°0 82nd 48'2 30°2 21°6 83rd 43°8 274 ~«C« 28'8 84th 60°1 30°6 19°3
Ghigius.—Average composition—
Fixed carbon ees wwe .. 4561 Volatile matter (including water) _... .. 3349 Ash eee eece ees ese 30°90
100°00
Like the seam at Télwd&sa, there are portions that contain a high percentage of carbon over the average, but not in such successive bands.
No. 1. Ptsgaon.—The composition of Pisgaon coal, taking the lower 4 feet, is, according to Mr. Tween’s analysis—
Fixed Carbon .. eos eve wo. 651 Volatile matter oe eee we 192 Ash “ses vee eee w 157
* Records, Geological Survey of India, 1870, vol. III, part 3, page 49. ( 101 )
102 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
No. 2. Pégaon.—Mr. Ness gives the following figures as illustrating the 10th to the 12th feet :-—
Fixed carbon ... a ~ Volatile combustible matter Ash ~ on on
Kdumbéri.—A sample obtained by Mr. Blanford containel—
Fixed carbon ~ ve 495. Volatile combustible matter ... 28°0 Sulphur in coal -85. Moistare ~ ~ 80 Ash = - aw 1466 1000
No. 1. 8ésti.—Two samples from the outcrop in the river procured by Mr. Blanford yielded—
A. B. Fixed carbon ~ ~ 612 499 Volatile matter ... ~” ~ 390 424 Ash oe - - 98 77 1000 1000
A. contained sulphur °77, water 4°5. No. 2. 8ésti.—The coal raised in A shaft, was submitted for ultimate analysis in Bombay, by order of the Secretary to His Highness the Nizam’s Public Works Department, with the following result :—
Sample, Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen and Ash, Loss, n 6477 3:10 19:10 12:99 04 oO 56°94 3:90 13°41 25°70 “05
65°06 3°00 22°13 979 02 5697 290 20°31 19°78 04 61:00 409 21:70 1320 “01
RCONOMIC. 108
The letters refer to the section on page 59, and shew the position of the samples. The inferior bands are o. and g., aggregating 4 inches.
Ft. In. a. Good coal eee ove wo 8 8 o. Inferior ,, eee vee wo O 2 p.- Strong 99 eee oon eee 2 0 q. Inferior 9 aco ooo ee O 2 r. Good ” owe see w 2 O No. 8. Sdésti.—The best samples from B shaft gave— Carbon eee es eee oe 0407 Hydrogen _.. ose ove we 490 Oxygen and nitrogen... vos oo» 9°92 Ash ooo ove eoe ove 11:09 99°98 Loss .. ‘O8 100°00 No. 4. Sdésti.—Samples from C shaft— Carbon eee eee eve eee 74°33 Hydrogen ... ove woe ~ 4°60 Oxygen and nitrogen _... eee w 12°16 Ash ase woe ese .. 8:09 99°17 Loss : 83 100°00
Antargaon.—Samples procured by myself from the outcrop. Average
composition — Fixed carbon ... ove ove eo 46°8 Volatile matter, including 8°7 per cent. moisture ... 344 Ash nee wes one ~ 188
The above analyses will, I think, convey a fair impression of the
composition of the coals in this field; and I now propose to offer a few ( 103 )
104 HUGHES: WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD.
remarks on their relative values to each other and to the coals of other fields.
Value of the coal.—Fuel containing a large amount of combustible volatilisable substance gives rise to a copious evolution of hydrocarbons, burning usually with a large flame, and is useful for generating steam ; but for producing high temperatures, and for iron smelting, the more carbonaceous the coal, the better adapted is it generally found to be.
(a.) Fixed carbon. Warora.—Now the Warora coal hitherto analysed is deficient in fixed carbon, and in combustible volatile gases, so that it is not fuel which could be considered a type of either of the two above classes of coal ; 45 per cent, of fixed carbon, and 26°5 per cent. of volatile matter, being below the standard. The amount of fixed carbon is inferior to every one of the 88 R&niganj field samples tried at the Mint and in our laboratory, the lowest of which contains 45 per cent., while the average is 58°3, and the maximum 63°4.,
Pisgaon.—A much better coal is that at Pisgaon, Mr. Tween’s analysis of it in its natural condition shewing 65:1 per cent. as against Warora 45°4 per cent. After expulsion of water, the percentage of carbon in the samples treated by Mr. Ness are, for—
Pisgaon. Warora splintery coal, Warora cherry coal.