PART 4.] 
Ball: Raigurh and Iling/r Coal-field, 
119 
rocks which have been used in this way are the Talchir sandstones of Sasun. These furnish 
a suitable material for copings and similar purposes in Sambalpur. Recently they have 
been employed in the manufacture of washing vats for lac works. The building stone which 
is chiefly used in Sambalpur is a schistose quartzite which is found in the station. Limestone 
of limited amount, hut good quality, occurs in the Talchir rocks to the south of Luponga 
(vide p. 105). Kankar is found in most of the alluvial tracts, but is not generally abundant. 
The Vindhyan rocks south of Padampur on the Mahanadi include an excellent limestone, 
which is the source of lime chiefly resorted to in the district. 
Coal. —The seams which are exposed in the portion of the field at present under descrip, 
tion are neither very numerous nor individually of promising quality ; but it must be remem¬ 
bered that the coal-measure rocks are not only, as a whole, very slightly disturbed from their 
original horizontal position, but are much covered by superficial deposits, and that there is 
a complete want of sections which might show the succession of beds constituting the group. 
The true, or even approximate, value of the field, therefore, can only he ascertained by borings. 
In the meantime it may safely he asserted that there is a fair prospect of this field proving 
to be of considerable value. 
Of those seams which are at present exposed I should recommend that at Dibdorah as 
being the one which is most likely to reward exploitation. The advantages which this seam 
possesses are the following:—The coal is of fair quality, much better probably than might he 
supposed from the assay, the sample having been taken from under water ; the thickness is 
at least six and a half feet. The seam being at the surface, and having only a small dip, 
might be worked by simple undercut quarries. 
Lastly, the locality is the nearest to the Mahanadi, being only about six miles distant 
from that means of carriage. The chief difficulty in working this seam, indeed the only 
one that I know of, will be caused by water which it may possibly be found not very easy 
to dispose of, especially during the rains. This, of course, would only be felt while the works 
were carried on on a small scale; with extended operations suitable provision could no doubt 
be made, but the narrowness of the valley in which the seam is situated must always cause 
some trouble. 
With this in view it would obviously be best to break ground first (provided, of course, 
that the seam is first proved to extend so far) at the watershed between Dibdorah and 
Jogidhipa; this would involve somewhat longer carriage, but would secure an outlet on 
either side for the ejected water. The water would almost entirely be from surface sources, 
as the red clays which occur with the upper sandstones would, I think, prevent excessive 
percolation from the water-bearing rocks of the highlands. 
The sections given above of the other seams in this part of the field (Ebe valley area) 
do not indicate any coal of workable thickness. According to the assays and my rough 
examination in the field, No. 9 of the Durlipali is the best coal, but of it there is only one 
foot. No. 4 of the same section is two feet six inches thick, but the quality is very inferior. 
It must be remembered, however, that the whole of this seam, as well as that of most of the 
others, is not exposed. As regards carriage, the Durlipali seam is much less favourably 
situated than that at Dibdorah ; the distance from Sambalpur as the crow flies is twenty-five 
miles. During the rains, however, the Ebe river, which is only six miles distant, might be 
used as a means of carriage. The Lukanpur seam, regarding which little is known at 
present, is situated in an enclosed valley difficult of access, the road to which from the 
Mahanadi would probably be from ten to twelve miles. The Dulunga seam is about sixteen 
miles from the Ebe. Of the large seams in the Baisunder I have spoken in my previous 
report; the coal from them might, perhaps, to a small extent, be brought down that river to the 
Ebe also during the rains. 
