The utilization of high moisture, high volatile low rank coals such as lignite is gaining importance day by day to meet the growing demands of coal for the energy sectors. Lignitic coals give up their moisture more slowly than harder coals, but the higher volatile content tends to offset the effect of high Moisture. For the combustion of pulverized material it appears essential to dry lignite. Further, lowest possible ash and moisture as well as high heat content are desired for combustion. The present work gives the details of the preparation of a product of higher calorific value by thermal treatment of South Arcot Neyveli lignite. De-oxygenation via de-carboxylation gave a product with an increased heat value and higher reactivity towards oxygen. Various thermal parameters derived from thermogravimetry (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of raw and product lignite have been compared for the evaluation of combustion performance. Proximate, ultimate, FT-IR data and specific energy values (CV) are presented.