The Coal Ministry has successfully auctioned 10 coal mines for commercial exploitation, of which eight were auctioned on Tuesday.
The Ministry had launched the auction for commercial mining under the second attempt of the fourth tranche of CMSP Act & the MMDR Act as well as the fifth tranche of CMSP Act & MMDR Act on March 30, 2022, Coal Ministry said in a release.
Mines explored
Seven coal mines are fully explored, while 3 mines are partially explored. The total geological reserves for these 10 coal mines are 3,445.76 million tonnes with a cumulative Peak Rate Capacity (PRC) of around 39.31 mtpa, it added.
The mines are spread over Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Auctions
On Day 1 (Tuesday), eight coal mines were auctioned of which five mines are fully explored and three are partially explored. Their total geological reserves are 2157.48 MT and the cumulative PRC for these coal mines is 19.31 million ton per annum (MTPA).
The successful bidders of these mines include Jaiprakash Power Ventures, Avassa Ferro Alloys, Madhya Bharat Minerals and Jhar Mineral Resources.
On Wednesday, the second day of the auction, mining conglomerate Vedanta was the winner of two coal mines. Both the mines are fully explored. The total geological reserves are 1,288.28 mt, while the PRC is 20 mtpa.
Commercial mining
Under the commercial coal mining auction process, a total of 57 coal mines, including these 10 mines, have been successfully auctioned till date with a total cumulative PRC of 140.75 mtpa.
With operationalisation of these mines the private sector will have a significant share in domestic coal production and dependency on imported coal will reduce. The commercial auctions will generate a huge revenue to the government treasury and will help in the social development of the population surrounding the coal bearing areas.
Last month, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said that in the near future more than 107 coal blocks will be made available for auction.
By 2030, India’s coal requirement will be 1.5 billion tonnes.