Auro Coal for Behraband and Lalgarh mines, Modern Power gives preference to bidders

The Behraband North Extension and Lalgarh (North) mines have geological reserves of 170 million tonnes (mt) and 27.038 mt respectively. The response to the second attempt at the auction process of 11 coal mines has been muted.

This comes at a time when the global window for future coal mining is getting smaller with the shift towards Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) compliance.

“The Ministry of Coal launched the second attempt at auction of 11 coal mines for commercial mining on 27 September 2021, and bids were received for 4 mines. The auction was conducted for two mines which have received multiple bids,” the coal ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The country’s coal requirement is expected to increase to 1,123 million tonnes by 2023 from the current level of 700 million tonnes. India has the world’s fourth largest reserves and is the second largest producer of coal. With the global shift to green energy to address growing environmental concerns, the Indian government is trying to tap coal reserves within the next three decades.

“With the conduct of this auction, Ministry of Coal has successfully auctioned 30 mines (including 23 fully explored mines and 7 partially explored mines) since the launch of the first tranche in June 2020,” the statement said. of it.”

“The total peak rated capacity auctioned so far is 63.17 MTPA with an average premium of around 27.78%, indicating strong demand for coal mines in the market against the floor price of 4%. The total annual revenue from these mines is expected to be Rs.8158.03 crore and the estimated employment is 85,406.

According to the Union Ministry of Coal, India’s coal production grew by 10.35% to 67.84 million tonnes during November 2019 from 61.47 million tonnes during November 2019. It highlights that coal-fueled power projects totaling 202.22 gigawatts (GW) are the mainstay of India’s electricity generation and account for more than half of India’s electricity generation capacity.

“The auction will be conducted online through a transparent two-stage process based on percentage revenue share. The salient features of the auction process include introduction of National Coal Index, ease of participation without any restriction for prior coal mining experience, complete flexibility in utilization of coal, optimized payment structure, efficiency enhancement through incentives for speedy production and clean coal. involves the use of technology. The statement said.

While CIL’s annual production target for the current financial year is 660 million tonnes, the coal offtake is expected to be 740 million tonnes.