ENUGU COAL MINING-DECADES OF PROSPERITY: WHAT WENT WRONG?

The discovery of coal in Enugu in 1909 has left an unprecedented impact as a significant source of heat and energy in Nigeria. It is one of the most important primary fossil fuels, a great source of heat and energy that has been used for generations dating back to 1000 B.C2 . Formed from the remnants of living organisms, the formation process can be described as the subversion of dead plant matter in an environment subjected to the geological forces of heat and pressure over millennials 3 National Geographic describes 4 coal ‘as a black or brownish-black sedimentary rock that can be burned for fuel and used to generate electricity. It is composed mostly of carbon and hydrocarbons, which contain energy that can be released through combustion (burning)’.