Results of core drilling for coal at Lakhra Anticline, Pakistan, from December 1961 to May 1965

High-quality lignite has been mined in small quantity from rocks of early Tertiary age in the Lakhra anticline area for at least 20 years, but because coal outcrops are poor or nonexistent, the extent of the field was not known. However, between 1953 and 1958, five oil test holes penetrated the coal and revealed that coal underlies a large part of the Lakhra anticline.

The Geological Survey of Pakistan began core drilling in 1961 to determine the extent and thickness of the shallower coal beds. By May 19630 25 borings had been completed. The Lailian coal bed was penetrated in borings over a distance of 5 miles from east to west and 11 miles from north to south, commonly at depths of less than 150 feet. The Lailian bed ranges in thickness from 2.6 to 8.4 feet; total reserves are estimated to be 130,000,000 tons. Coal below the Lailian bed appears to be lenticular, although present information is fragmentary.