DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE COALFIELDS. 93 
Mining operations were undertaken by the Ncrbudda Coal and 
Iron Company in 1862 and the Company worked on under excep- 
tional difficulties until 1904 when the collieries were sold to the 
Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company. Prior to 1892 their 
workings were confined to a small area of about 30 acres on the 
Sitariva river. Great trouble was experienced owing to the extreme 
irregularity of deposition of the coal-seams, the considerable disturb- 
ance which they have undergone, the large flow of water and the 
occurrence of underground fires. Since 1875, large sums of money 
have been expended both by the Government of India and by the 
Company, in unsuccessful attempts to prove coal by means of bor- 
ings outside this area. In 1892, however, the pertinacity of the 
manager, Mr. F. L. G. Simpson, who was assisted by Dr. King and 
Mr. LaTouche of the Geological Survey of India, was rewarded 
by the discovery of a second coal-bearing area of more than 100 
acres in extent, situated about 2 miles west of the old mines. 
Further borings have, since, considerably extended the boundaries 
of this ground. The present workings are entirely confined to this 
area, the old mines having been finally closed down in 1902. 
The output for 1910 was 39,484 tons. 
Shaqmr {Betul). — This field is situated on the Tawa river in the 
neighbourhood of Shapur, a village in the Betul district. The 
exposed coal-bearing rocks have an extent of about 26 square miles. 
They are divided by faults into three distinct portions to which the 
following names have been given : — 
(1) The Dolari area. 
(2) The Machna river area. 
(3) The Suki and Sonada area. 
Outcrops m the neighbourhood of Sonada attracted much 
attention in 1848 when a quantity of coal was extracted and con- 
veyed to Bombay for steamer trials.^ In 1875 the coalfield was 
geologically mapped by H. B. Medlicott,^ who mentions a number 
of fairly promising outcrops, but apparently found no coal seam 
of value. Under his advice, in 1881, a number of borings ^ were 
put down within the field. All of these went completely through 
1 8cl. Rec. Bom. Govt., XIV, 27-115 (1848). 
2 Rec, G. S. I., VIII, 65 (1875). 
3 Rec, G. S. i., XVI, 2 (1883). 
