Thar coal or Balochistan coal for industry?

Two very different coals

Thar coal is lignite, a young coal with a lot of water in it, often 40 to 50% as mined. Its heat value as received is much lower than Balochistan coal, roughly half.

Balochistan coal from Duki, Chamalang, Sor Range and Harnai is sub-bituminous to bituminous coal with typically 5 to 10% moisture and 5,500 to 6,500 kcal/kg or more.

Who uses Thar coal

Almost all Thar coal goes to the power plants built next to the mines. Burning it close to the mine avoids moving all that water across the country.

The Sindh Engro mine is planning to raise output from 7.6 to 11.2 million tonnes a year, and in July the federal cabinet approved Rs 10 billion for a 105 km rail link from Thar to serve power plants, cement, fertiliser and steel. When that line opens, more industrial users will be able to get Thar coal.

Can industry use it?

Some cement plants plan to use Thar coal for part of their fuel, after drying it. For a brick kiln or a small boiler, the high moisture is a real problem: the coal burns poorly until it dries, and transport is expensive because so much of the weight is water.

Which to buy today

For kilns in Punjab and for most industrial boilers, Balochistan coal is still the practical choice: it travels well, burns hot and is available by the truck.

If you run a large plant in Sindh, it is worth following the Thar rail project and talking to the mine about supply. For everyone else, compare on cost per unit of heat delivered to your site, not on the price per tonne at the mine.