A suite of thirteen Indian thermal coals have been subjected to FTIR examination to determine their quartz content. The coal samples were ashed at 815 +/- 10 degrees C using standard procedures and the high temperature ash (HTA) of each coal was used to make a tablet with KBr under pressure. Each tablet was then subjected to FTIR scanning to obtain a spectrum at a resolution of 2 cm(-1). The 800 cm(-1) quartz doublet observed in each spectrum was used to obtain quantitative information on the percentage of quartz present. The data were compared with interpretations from ash analysis. The result showed a good correlation between the two sets of data (R(2) = 0.84), suggesting the potential of the method for routine testing of quartz content of coal in laboratory, especially as it takes less time than other methods. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.