20 
BALL AND SIMPSON: COALFIELDS OF INDIA. 
soiitli-east direction. On tlie sonth the outcrops rise to an elevation 
of as much as 2,000 feet above the plains, but on the north they 
arc partly concealed by alluvium, and it is highly probable that 
in this direction they are continuous below the alluvium with 
the Jaipur measures. 
There is a large number of seams, but the majority of them are 
too thin to be workable. The thickest section occurs in the Haffrai 
river where there are said to be five workable seams, aggregating 
73| feet in thickness. Mallet ^ estimated that in the SafTrai area, 
over a length of 4| miles, allowing an average thickness of HI feet, 
there are, within 350 feet of the outcrops about 20 million tons of 
coal. The whole of this quantity lies below the alluvium. Tn the 
Tiru-Dikhu area the same writer has calculated that, allowing an 
average thickness of 18 feet of workable coal over a distance of 7 
miles, there are, within (500 feet of the outcrop nearly 15 million 
tons of coal, much of which could be extracted by means of adit 
levels. These estimates make no allowance for the highly probable 
extension of the field to the north below the alluvium or for the 
southern unproved ground. R. E.. Simpson calculated that in less 
than a mile of outcrop on the right bank of the Dikhu river nearly 
2J million tons of coal could be obtained by means of adit levels. 
The quality of the coal is similar to that from the Makum 
field and most of it is of the hard variety. The average analysis 
of 11 samples is : — 
Moisture ........ 5-5 
Volatile matter 34-1 
Fixed carbon 57-8 
Ash 2-0 
In former times a number of quarries and even pits were worked 
to supply fuel for the local tea gardens. No authentic records of 
the total amount of coal mined appears to be available. Recently 
prospecting operations on behalf of the Assam-Bengal Railway 
Company have been undertaken, and that company is contemplat- 
ing the development of the coalfield. 
Janji.^ — This small and comparatively unimportant field lies 
about 8 miles south-west of the Nazira field and is traversed by 
the Janji river. The length of the narrow strip of coal measures 
> Op. rit. 
' Maljet : op. cit, p. 75. 
