Chemical and physical characteristics of coal and carbonaceous shale samples from the Salt Range coal field, Punjab Province, Pakistan

Abstract

The coal bearing Patala Formation (ranges from 5 9O m thick) is composed of dark gray, fossil iferous shale interbedded with white quartzose sandstone, siltstone, marl, and limestone. Coal and carbonaceous shale deposits generally occur as a single bed «1 m thick) that is commonly split by dark gray shale or thin «0.25 m thick) bands of quart zose sandstone. These laterally discontinuous coal and carbonaceous shale beds overlie and are laterally associated with northeasterly trending, elongate, quartzose sandstone bodies (ranges from 1 2O m thick, fig. 2) and are interpreted to have been deposited in back barrier and near marine environments (Alam and others, 1987; Warwick and Shakoor, 1988a,b). METHODS Seventeen of the samples described in this report were collected as core during a drilling program conducted by the Geological Survey of Pakistan in the Eastern Salt Range. Eleven of these samples were shale and carbonaceous shale (sediments that comprise the majority of the coal-bearing Patala Formation) that were collected from drill hole DSM-17 (fig. 2; Appendix-I). Forty three samples were collected as whole bed or bench channel samples from active working faces of 35 underground coal mines in all parts of the Salt Range coal field (Appendix I). Coal and carbonaceous shale channel samples were collected following ASTM (1986) procedures. Roof and floor rock, and partings greater than 1 cm thick were not included in the coal and carbonaceous shale channel and core samples. The proximate and ultimate analytical data reported here was done in the laboratories of Geochemical Testing Incorporated in Somerset, Pennsylvania, and Dickinson Laboratories Incorporated of El Paso, Texas using ASTM <1986) methods. Randomly selected coal and carbonaceous shale samples were analyzed for major , minor , and trace element contents by USGS laboratories in Reston, Virginia using methods described in Golightly and Simon (1989). Correlation coefficients were calculated among trace element, proximate, ultimate, location, and coal bed thickness data. Few samples have a complete set of analytical data; therefore, the number of samples used in each correlation will vary. Sample locations (Areas 1, 2, and 3 on fig. 2) were assigned to the western, central, and eastern parts of the Salt Range coal field. RESULTS

Site Characterization Using Integrated Imaging Analysis Methods on Satellite Data of the Islamabad, Pakistan, Region

“…As described in the Digital Analysis Methods section, we apply objectoriented segmentation algorithms (eCognition) on the ASTER rDEM to delineate the geospatial extent of each terrain unit. Known locations of steep and rough terrain features, such as the Margala Hills, the Khairi Murat ridge, and the Kalachitta, the Pathargarh, and the Gandgarh Ranges (e.g., Warwick and Shakoor, 1988;Warwick et al, 1990;Bender and Raza, 1995;Jaswal et al, 1997;Williams et al, 1999) are observed to match our extracted and classified mountain units (Fig. 7).…”

“…7). Gradual-sloped and smooth features, occupied by the Peshawar Basin, the Indus River, and the Soan River Valleys, also match their known locations (Warwick and Shakoor, 1988;Warwick et al, 1990;Bender and Raza, 1995;Jaswal et al, 1997;Williams et al, 1999).…”

“…9). In separate studies, Warwick et al (1990) and Jaswal et al (1997) mapped these linear ridge features and dated them to be of around Paleocene to Eocene age, which closely matches the age (lower Eocene) of the Margala Hills limestone (Williams et al, 1999). Furthermore, Jaswal et al (1997) assigned both the Khairi Murat Ridge and the Kalachitta Range as rock types predominantly consisting of limestone.…”

Underground Coal Gasification Studies on Chakwal Coal, Punjab, Pakistan

“…The coal used in this study is of Patala Formation which conformably overlies the Lockhart Limestone and transitionally overlain by the Nammal Formation in the Salt Range (Warwick et al, 1990). Based on the sections and borehole data, the formation consists of shale and marl with subordinate limestone, sandstone and coal.…”