Coal

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren urged Union Minister for Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy to clear the state's coal dues "worth Rs 1.36 lakh crore". Reddy assured Soren that the central government would take necessary steps to ensure payment of the outstanding dues, an official release said. A meeting was held among senior officials of the state government, the coal ministry and Coal India Ltd in the presence of Soren and Reddy on Thursday. The Jharkhand government presented a detailed assessment of the outstanding mineral royalty payments to the Union minister in the meeting, the release said. "...The Union coal minister directed that central government officials collaborate with the state government to verify the authenticity of these claims," it stated. Soren said the central and state governments need to move forward together to better manage coal mining, production, transportation, land acquisition and compensation. The CM also said the lands on which mining operations ha

Coal production from captive and commercial mines rose 34.2 per cent to 131.05 million tonnes (MT) in the April-December period of the current fiscal year. Coal output from captive and commercial mines was 97.665 MT in the year-ago period, the coal ministry said in a statement. Coal output from captive and commercial mines was 18.40 MT in December, the coal ministry said in a statement. According to the Index of Eight Core Industries (Base Year 2011-12) released by the government, the coal sector has demonstrated a growth of 7.5 per cent (provisional) to 199.6 points in November 2024 as compared to 185.7 points a year earlier, the ministry said in a separate statement. The index of coal industry reached 172.9 points during April-November 2024 as compared to 162.5 points during the same period last year, demonstrating growth of 6.4 per cent among the all eight core industries. The ICI measures combined and individual performance of production of eight core industries -- cement, coa

The coal sector is likely to witness a spate of activities in the upcoming year from launching maiden coal exchange to facilitating trading and rate determination of dry-fuel to meet the booming demand of the economy. The government also intends to work more closely in the area of coal gasification as it is on a high priority list for energy transition. Coal gasification is a cleaner option compared to burning of coal as it facilitates utilisation of the chemical properties of dry fuel. Talking to PTI, Coal Additional Secretary Rupinder Brar said that "the demand (for coal) is extremely important. And we do see demand growing in India considering the growing size of the economy... Therefore, coal will also definitely be required and we are conscious of that and are working towards that". The efforts will be to continuously augment coal output and align it with the demand, she said. Brar said the pre-2014 policy on mine allocation has been disbanded and now the government gives blo

A special CBI court on Monday convicted Managing Director of Abhijeet Infrastructure Ltd Manoj Kumar Jayaswal and its former director Ramesh Kumar Jayaswal in a coal scam case related to the allocation of Brinda, Sisai, and Meral coal blocks in Jharkhand. In its case registered in 2016, the CBI had alleged that the company obtained the coal blocks by misrepresenting its financial position, acquisition of land for its proposed end-use plant, and other related claims, a statement from the agency said. Forged documents were used to secure the recommendation of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, for the allocation of the coal blocks, the CBI said. Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj convicted Nagpur-based Abhijeet Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (AIPL), its Managing Director Manoj Kumar Jayaswal and former director Ramesh Kumar Jayaswal of cheating, criminal conspiracy and using forged documents as genuine. Their sentence will be pronounced later. The four-year-long investigation showed that .

The eight core sectors contribute 40.27 per cent to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) which measures overall industrial growth

Despite having switched to its internal e-auction platform in January this year, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has floated a tender seeking bids from private service providers to conduct e-auctions of the dry fuel for its subsidiaries over the next two years, officials said on Monday. This move has left external e-auction service providers, such as MSTC and mjunction, who have managed CIL's auctions through electronic platforms for nearly two decades, confused and they were seeking more clarity before deciding whether to participate in the tender, stakeholders said. The deadline for submission of bids is November 27. CIL had engaged its subsidiary CMPDI to develop an internal coal e-auction system in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the officials said. The internal platform was successfully transitioned in January 2024 after conducting successful trials in 2023. "However, there have been complaints about the system's performance, prompting Coal India to seek extern

The government must include coking coal in the list of critical minerals and provide special dispensation to enhance the domestic production of the key raw material for steel production, according to a Niti Aayog report. The report 'Enhancing Domestic Coking Coal Availability to Reduce the import of Coking Coal', said considering India's commitments to Net Zero by 2070, the country's interests would be better served by fully utilising the proved reserves of medium coking coal (16.5 billion tonne) in India for metallurgical purposes. "Government of India (GoI) must include coking coal in the list of critical minerals since coking coal constitutes approximately 42 per cent of the cost of steel which is an essential commodity for infrastructure development and downstream industries, which are large job creators in India," the report said. The European Union has declared coking coal as a critical raw material along with 29 other raw materials which include green energy' minerals like ..

Coal India aims to eliminate Rs 2,200 crore in accumulated losses at its subsidiary, Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL), and to rejoin the dividend list by FY 2025-26, a top official said on Sunday. At the foundation day event, Coal India chairman P M Prasad said Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, another previously loss-making subsidiary, has already re-entered the dividend list. He expressed confidence that ECL would achieve similar success by FY 2025-26. Coal India has seven coal-producing subsidiaries. "ECL is performing well and is on track to meet its production target of 54 million tonnes this year. We expect to eliminate two-thirds of its Rs 2,200 crore accumulated losses this fiscal year, with the remaining losses cleared by the following year, allowing it to rejoin the dividend list," Prasad said. He added that the next 3-4 months would present challenges for production due to monsoon impacts on growth. However, Coal India remains on track to achieve its overall production target of 773 ..

JSW Steel, JSW Energy, ACC Ltd, NMDC Ltd, NTPC Mining Ltd and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) are among the 31 companies which have submitted bids for the tenth round of commercial coal mine auction. "A total of 31 companies have submitted their bids in the auction process," the coal ministry said in a statement. More than 10 new companies have participated for the first time under commercial coal mine auction. A total of 67 coal blocks were put up for sale in June under the tenth round of commercial mines auction. The government has received 44 bids for the 67 coal mines, the statement said. "The bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary technical evaluation committee and technically qualified bidders will be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction, to be conducted on MSTC portal," it added.

"Last week we took a briefing on setting up coal exchange," Minister added but didn't disclose the exact timing on when the exchange will come up

Until two years back, it was the reverse: India was pushing renewables and freezing new coal projects while China was pressing the pedal on coal

India's coal import rose 11.4 per cent to 121.1 million tonnes (MT) in the April-August period of the ongoing fiscal year. The country had imported 108.7 MT coal in the corresponding period of the previous year. According to data compiled by B2B e-commerce platform mjunction, "During April-August 2024, total coal and coke imports stood at 121.18 MT, around 11.4 per cent higher than 108.74 MT imported during the same period last year." However, coal import in August rose 5.4 per cent to 20.70 MT over 19.63 MT a year earlier. Of the total import in August 2024, non-coking coal import was at 13.04 MT, against 11.89 MT, while coking coal import was at 4.53 MT, against 4.62 MT a year ago. During April-August, non-coking coal import was at 78.68 MT, higher than 68.58 MT imported during the same period last financial year. Coking coal import was at 24.79 MT, almost flat against 24.85 MT recorded in the year-ago period. "Surplus availability of domestic coal in the system along with dwin

As the UK officially shut down its last remaining coal power plant on Monday, policy experts said coal will continue to be a part of India's energy mix for the next few decades, given that it is still a developing country with significant energy needs. The UK on Monday closed its last coal power plant, becoming the first G7 nation to do so amid calls for a global coal-free energy system by 2040. The world's first coal power plant opened in London in 1882, and until 2012, coal accounted for 39 per cent of the UK's electricity generation. Global energy think tank Ember said the closure of the UK's last coal plant means that more than a third of OECD countries are now coal-free, with three-quarters expected to eliminate coal power by 2030, in line with global climate goals aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) "Net Zero by 2050" report recommends that developed countries phase out unabated coal by 2030, while developing countries sho

State-owned West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) has achieved self-sufficiency in coal supply for its thermal plants from its captive sources in the current fiscal, eliminating its dependence on Coal India Ltd, a top official said on Friday. WBPDCL aims to produce around 20 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal, up from 18.41 million tonnes in FY24. "We have zero dependence on Coal India for coal supply from this fiscal. Last year, we procured 3.85 million tonnes of dry fuel from them," WBPDCL Director (Mining) Chanchal Goswami told PTI. As of August 2024, dispatches from our captive mines have reached 9.1 million tonnes, he said on the sidelines of Assocham's "2nd Minerals and Mining Conclave 2024". Goswami, also a former CIL professional, said that three-fourth of WBPDCL's coal production comes from Pachwara North in Jharkhand. The block is expected to produce 15 million tonnes in FY'25 out of the total 20-21 million tonnes. Other blocks include Barjora, .

The Indonesian Coal Miners Association (ICMA) expects imports by China and India to peak in 2025, ending growth in global seaborne trade volumes of the polluting fuel

Indicating sufficient coal availability in the market, the National Coal Index (NCI) dropped 3.48 per cent to 142.13 points in June 2024. The NCI was at 147.25 points in June 2023, the coal ministry said in a statement on Friday. This fall indicates sufficient availability of coal in the market to meet the growing demands. NCI is a price index that combines coal prices from all sales channels, including notified prices, auction prices and import prices. It considers prices of coking and non-coking coal of various grades transacted in the regulated (power and fertilizer) and non-regulated sectors. Established with the base year as fiscal 2017-18, NCI serves as a reliable indicator of market dynamics, providing valuable insights into price fluctuations. Additionally, the premium on coal auctions indicates the pulse of the industry, and the sharp decline in coal auction premium confirms the sufficient coal availability in the market. The growth of 14.58 per cent in the country's coa

Cogentrix, which was bought by Carlyle from Goldman Sachs in 2012, operates more than 70 gas, coal, solar and other renewable assets

With more commercial mines being auctioned, the DGMS has started discussions with captive and commercial coal block operators on mine safety, an official said on Sunday. The Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) emphasises ensuring adherence to safety norms among new players. "We see more captive and commercial mines coming into production every year. So, we are actively engaging in consultation with the mine operators so that they understand the rules and regulations that have to be followed for mine safety," DGMS Director General Prabhat Kumar said at the Mines Safety Award 2024 event. In the last nine rounds, the Ministry of Coal has auctioned 107 blocks with a peak-rated capacity of 256 MT. So far, 11 commercial coal blocks have been operationalised. Meanwhile, Coal India, which is diversifying into the non-coal sector, will actively participate in more auctions of critical mineral blocks, including lithium, to capitalise on the battery value chain. "We have taken one min

State-owned NLC India Ltd on Monday said that it has bagged a coal mine in Odisha. The coal produced from the mine will address the energy security of the country. The coal mine has total reserves of around 1.38 billion tonnes with an operatable peak-rated capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). "NLC India Ltd has emerged as the successful bidder for the Machhakata (revised) coal mine in Angul district of Odisha in the eighth round of commercial coal block e-auction," the company said in a statement. This is the second coal mine won by the public sector enterprise after North Dhadu coal block (Western Part). The company said that it is committed to its capacity addition in line with its vision of achieving more than 100 MTPA by 2030 from the present 50 MTPA. NLC India's core business is mining and power generation. Meanwhile, the coal ministry on Monday executed the Coal Mining Development and Production Agreements for three coal mines that were auctioned. The mines for

Our output of 189 MTs in the first quarter of the current financial year was around 14 MTs more compared to last year's same quarter, giving us the leverage to step up our supplies, Prasad said