The story
The Jharia coalfield around Dhanbad holds India's main reserves of prime coking coal, used to make steel. Private collieries from the late 19th century were nationalised in the 1970s and are now run mainly by Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, a Coal India subsidiary. Dhanbad also hosts IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and CSIR-CIMFR, which train mining engineers and research mine safety.
In numbers
Coal production in Dhanbad district was 319.44 lakh tonnes in 2010-11; BCCL and ECL are the main coal companies operating in the district.
Brief Industrial Profile of Dhanbad District, MSME-DI Ranchi, Ministry of MSME · 2012
Ways in for a newcomer
- Coal transport, loading and washery contracts
- Hard coke and briquette units
- Mining equipment repair and spares
- Safety gear and environmental monitoring services
Problems the cluster faces
- Underground fires and land subsidence in Jharia
- Illegal mining and coal theft
- Air pollution and resettlement of affected families
Businesses to start here
Metallurgical Coke Unit (Small Coke Ovens) →Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing →Fly Ash Bricks Unit →Engineering Workshop (Job Work and Repairs) →