The government has auctioned nine coal mines of ten that went under the hammer, expecting to generate an annual revenue of Rs 1,446 crore as these go on stream.
The auctioned blocks which include three fully explored mines and six partially explored coal mines are likely to attract a capital investment of around Rs 2,115 crore, as per the government.
JSW Energy Utkal Ltd, NLC India, ACC Ltd, S M Steels and Power Ltd, Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd, Orissa Alloy Steel Private Ltd, Mineware Advisors Private Ltd, and Shreeji Nuravi Coal Mining and Trading Private Ltd are among the companies that have won coal blocks. The auctioned mines are located in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha.
The mines auctioned under the 10th round hold a combined geological reserve of approximately 3,998.73 million tonnes with a cumulative Peak Rated Capacity (PRC) of 14.10 million tonnes of coal per annum, excluding partially explored coal mines.
Since the inception of commercial coal mining in 2020, the government has auctioned a total of 113 coal mines with a production capacity of 257.60 million tonnes per year.
“Upon operationalization, these mines will immensely contribute to enhancing domestic coal production and in making the country self-reliant in the coal sector. Collectively, these mines are expected to generate annual revenue of Rs 35,437 crores, capital investment of Rs 38,641 crores and provide employment for 3,48,268 people in coal-bearing regions,” the government said.
The coal ministry envisages to produce 1.08 billion tonnes of coal in the current financial year. Of the envisioned FY25 target, state-owned Coal India is set to produce 838 MT of coal.
The country produced 84.45 million tonnes of coal during October surpassing the 78.57 MT of the corresponding month last year, registering an increase of 7.48%, according to the data from the coal ministry. Coal production from captive and other entities also showed substantial growth, rising to 16.59 MT last month compared to 11.70 MT in the same period last year.
The cumulative coal production for the current fiscal year up to October reached 537.45 MT, an increase of 6.10% from 506.56 MT during the same period in FY24.
The government is focusing on opening and commercialising new mines in order to increase domestic output of the country while reducing the dependence on coal imports given the rise in the country’s power demand. The government, now and again, has emphasised on the need to add new coal-based capacities to meet the increasing demand until the renewable energy becomes fully operational.