The government is confident of producing 1.08 billion tonne of coal during 2024-25, an official source told FE. The coal ministry is planning to inaugurate 20 first-mile connectivity projects with coal handling plants and silos this fiscal to boost evacuation.
“This year, we will produce 1,080 million tonne of coal,” the source said. “Rake deployment has increased and effective utilisation of rakes is going to happen. We have CHP (coal handling plants) silos. In FY24, we inaugurated eight CHP silos. This year, we are going to inaugurate almost 20.”
Of the envisioned FY25 target, Coal India is set to produce 838 MT. The company earlier had a target of producing 850 MT, which was revised owing to huge stocks at thermal power plants.
In FY24, the government had envisaged the coal output crossing 1 billion tonne, but fell short of the target at 997.4 MT, official data showed. Production, however, touched a new high, up by 11.67% from FY23. The cumulative production of coal and lignite stood at 1.04 billion tonne.
The government is planning to open three coking coal mines in Jharkhand this fiscal with capacity ranging from 5 MT to 6.5 MT.
“This year, we are going to open three coking coal mines – all in Jharkhand. One of them will be the largest coking coal mine in the country,” said the source.
The move comes amid the government’s efforts to reduce imports of coking coal, primarily used in the steel sector. The country imports around 70% of its coking coal requirements.
“We wish to set up more washeries, auction high grade coal to the steel sector exclusively and change the technology in steel making and use the blast furnace route,” said the official. “We should be able to reduce coking coal imports in the next two-three years.”
Currently, there are two companies – Bharat Coking Coal and Central Coalfields, both subsidiaries of Coal India – that produce coking coal in the country.
Over the years, owing to shortage of coal, the good quality stuff produced by BCCL primarily to be used in steel making, has been supplied to the power sector.
During FY24, Coal India and other captive mines cumulatively produced 66.63 MT of coking coal, up from 60.76 MT in FY23, as per government data. The country imported 48.29 MT of coking coal till January in FY24.
