Q. Which mineral is popularly known as ‘buried sunshine’? Answer:
Coal
Notes: Coal is often called the “buried sunshine” because it developed from the remains of plants and greens that existed as long as 400 million years ago.
Most of coal was formed 300 million years ago, when much of Earth was covered in “steamy swamps.”
As these greens died, they fell to the bottom of the floor, forming peat.
The coalification process (transformation into coal) begins when the peat is physically and chemically altered.