Coal Industry

Coal India arm Northern Coalfields Ltd (NCL) expects to achieve the production target of 139 million tonnes for the current fiscal. In a statement, NCL said that till February the subsidiary produced 128.13 million tonnes and "we are hopeful that we will also achieve our annual target". The company's dispatch was 125.78 MT in the April-February period of the current fiscal. NCL's dispatch target for the current fiscal is 139 million tonnes. The company known for its highly mechanised mines and critical role in ensuring the country's energy security, said that it has launched the first aid training programme for homemakers on a large scale. By extending awareness about first aid beyond the workplace and into the homes of its workforce, NCL is fostering a primary-care-conscious community and reinforcing a culture of preparedness. "Launched on 26th January, the First Aid Training Program for Homemakers, in just one month, has successfully trained about 1,500 homemakers in different

India's coal imports remained flat at 201.30 million tonnes (MT) in the April-December period of the ongoing financial year. The country's coal import was 201.52 MT in the year-ago period, according to the data compiled by mjunction services, a leading name in the e-auction space. Coal import in December declined to 19.28 MT over 23.35 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year. "Imports in December 2024 stood around 19.28 million tonnes as against 23.35 MT imported in December 2023," it said. During April-December 2024, non-coking coal imports were at 128.85 MT, lower than 133.46 MT imported during the same period in the previous year. Coking coal imports were at 40.64 MT during April-December 2024, down from 42.81 MT reported for April-December 2023. "The high stock position in the domestic market, coupled with lower-than-expected demand, has led to a drop in import volumes. We expect the demand scenario to remain unchanged in the coming weeks," mjunction MD & CEO

'Three US cargoes that were supposed to go to China have landed in India and around 10 more cargoes are waiting,' Vasudev Pamnani, director at India's I-Energy Natural Resources, said

210 mt of coal likely from commercial mines in FY26

Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Saturday reported its first monthly production de-growth with the miner's output reducing by 0.8 per cent year-on-year in January. The company produced 77.8 million tonnes (MT) of coal in January as compared to 78.4 MT in the year-ago month. Despite the January production decline, CIL's management remains optimistic about achieving strong growth in the February-March period of the current fiscal, an official said. In December 2024, Coal India's production increased by 5.25 per cent year-on-year. For the period from April 2024 to January 2025, CIL recorded a growth of 1.8 per cent with output reaching 621.1 MT, up from 610.3 MT in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. CIL's offtake in January stood at 68.6 MT, a 2.2 per cent increase, from 67.1 MT in the year-ago month. For the first 10 months of the current fiscal (April 2024-January 2025), CIL's offtake reached 630.2 MT, reflecting a 1.8 per cent increase, from 619.4 MT in the corresponding per

Five subsidiaries of Coal India, including SECL, CCL and ECL, have not met their production targets for April-December period of this fiscal year. Against the target of 133 million tonne (MT) set for April-December period, South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) produced 111.54 MT of coal. The output by Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) was 57.73 MT against the target of 66.48 MT. In the case of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, the production was 29.07 MT against the target of 31.90 MT. Eastern Coalfields Ltd's (ECL) actual production was 33.82 MT while the target was 35.35 MT. The output of Northern Coalfields was 104.90 MT while the target was 105.12 MT, according to Coal India data. On the other hand, Coal India arms Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL), Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) and North Eastern Coalfields (NEC)--a unit of Coal India Ltd --are ahead of their target. WCL produced 45.10 MT of coal against the target of 44.66 MT. MCL's production was 161.02 MT against the target of 158.79 MT. In

Chhattisgarh-based coal producer SECL, an arm of Coal India, on Monday said it has increased the pace of clearing mine overburden to ramp up its output. In the current financial year from April till date, it removed 281 million cubic metres (MCuM) of overburden, registering a growth of 7.6 per cent year on year. Overburden removal (OBR) involves clearing of soil and rock layers from the surface of a mine to access coal reserves. OBR of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) has "crossed 281 million cubic metres, achieving 105 per cent of its pro-rata target and recording 19.82 MCuM (7.58 per cent) increase compared to the same period last year", the public sector enterprise said in a statement. The company said it is removing over 1.3 million cubic metres of overburden daily. With this momentum, SECL is confident of surpassing its annual target and achieving an additional 40-45 million cubic metres of OBR, marking the highest-ever in the company's history. "Despite various challenges

Global thermal coal prices have retreated from record highs hit after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but are 50 per cent higher than the average during the 2017-19 period

India's coal import rose by two per cent to 182.02 million tonnes (MT) in the April-November period of the current fiscal year. The country's coal import was at 178.17 MT in the year-ago period, according to data compiled by business-to-business e-commerce company mjunction services ltd. However, the country's coal import dropped to 19.57 MT in the month of November, over 22.30 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal. "There was a drop in volumes, which was in line with market expectation. Ample availability in the domestic market reduced import demand from consuming sectors such as sponge iron and steel. Also, the comfortable stock position at power plants resulted in muted demand for imports," mjunction MD and CEO Vinaya Varma said. This trend is likely to continue in the coming months, he said. During April-November 2024, non-coking coal import was at 117.73 MT, lower than 118 MT imported during the same period last year. Coking coal import was at 36.93 MT during .

Coal India Limited (CIL) and IREL (India) Limited on Monday signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate and collaborate on the development of critical minerals. The MoU aims to promote the development of mutually agreed assets of critical minerals, including mineral sands and rare earth elements (REE), Coal India informed bourses The two companies will work together to acquire assets, source raw materials domestically or internationally, and develop mining, extraction, and refining capabilities, Coal India officials said. This partnership is part of CIL's efforts to reduce India's import dependence on critical minerals including lithium and cobalt. CIL Chairman P M Prasad in the past emphasised the importance of acquiring these mineral assets in India and abroad to support the country's clean energy goals. The government in the Union Budget 2024-25 had announced Critical Mineral Mission that aims to expand domestic production, recycling, and incentivise the

Coal production from captive and commercial mines was 162 MT between January and November 2024, the ministry said

India's coal production is set to increase by 8 to 10 per cent in the coming years, driven by growing electricity demand and increased contributions from captive mines

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

India's dependence on the dirtiest fossil fuel will likely continue for years, despite plans for the rapid deployment of clean power capacity

The government on Thursday said coal-based power generation rose 3.87 per cent in the April-October period of the current fiscal year. "...there was a significant growth of 3.87 per cent in coal-based power generation from April 2024 to October 2024 compared to the same period last year," the coal ministry said in a statement. The ministry further said the imports for blending purposes by thermal power plants dropped 19.5 per cent during the same period. This decline emphasises the country's commitment to achieve self-sufficiency in coal production and reducing reliance on imports. "Increase in coal import for power sector is attributed to the import of coal by imported coal-based power plants (designed to utilise imported coal only) i.e. 30.04 MT during this period, up from 21.71 MT, reaching a growth of 38.4 per cent in the corresponding timeframe last year," it said. Coal imports during April-October period of the current fiscal year dropped 3.1 per cent to 149.39 million tonne

The country's coal import rose by 4.2 per cent to 162.45 million tonnes (MT) in the April-October period of the current financial year compared to 155.87 MT in the year-ago period. Coal imports in October dropped by 14.4 per cent to 21.84 MT compared to 25.54 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, according to data compiled by mjunction services, a B2B e-commerce platform. Of the total imports in October, non-coking coal imports stood at 13.49 MT against 18.82 MT imported in October last fiscal. Coking coal imports stood at 4.45 MT, against 4.31 MT imported in October last financial year. In September, non-coking coal imports were 13.24 MT and coking coal at 3.39 MT. "There was a modest increase (month-on-month) in non-coking coal volumes in October as buyers took fresh positions during the festive month, and ahead of the winter season. Going forward, demand is likely to be moderate due to the anticipated growth in domestic supply during the fourth quarter (Q4)," ...

The government on Thursday gave letters of award to four entities, including BCGCL- a joint venture of CIL-BHEL - for availing fiscal incentives totalling Rs 4,150 crore for setting up coal gasification projects. Letters of Award (LoAs) have been given to CIL-BHEL , a consortium of CIL-GAIL , Coal India Ltd and New Era Cleantech Solution Pvt Ltd. "Ministry of Coal has reached a significant milestone in India's Coal Gasification Initiative with the issuance of LoAs to the selected applicants under Categories I and III of the Rs 8,500 crore Coal Gasification Incentive Scheme," the coal ministry said in a statement. BCGCL has been awarded Rs 1,350 crore of financial incentive under the scheme for its coal gasification project in Lakhanpur, Odisha. With a total investment of Rs 11,768 crore, the project aims to produce 0.66 million tonne per annum of ammonium nitrate. The CIL-GAIL joint venture project in Sonepur Bazari, West Bengal, has been awarded Rs 1,350 crore. This project, costi

The Chhattisgarh-based firm produced 13.3 million tonne (MT) coal in November, which is 9.9 per cent less than 14.8 MT produced during the corresponding period of last year

The Supreme Court Wednesday said it would consider pleas seeking modification of its earlier orders that barred high courts from hearing appeals against trial court orders passed in cases related to alleged illegal coal block allocations. The apex court passed two orders between 2014 and 2017 restricting the accused from approaching the high court and had directed that appeals against trial court proceedings in the coal scam cases could only be filed in the top court. The intent behind the orders was to expedite trial processes by preventing delays and to stall the proceedings by the accused seeking relief in high courts. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar was considering pleas that urged it to modify the orders saying the Delhi High Court, being the appellate court, be allowed to deal with the pleas arising out of trial court orders related to coal scam cases. "Is this the stand of the CBI that everything should come to us?" the CJI asked senio

State-owned CIL's coal production rose by 2.4 per cent to 471 million tonnes (MT) in the April-November period of the current financial year. Coal India Ltd (CIL) produced 460 MT of coal in the year-ago period. CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of the domestic coal production. The company's production also rose by 1.7 per cent to 67.2 MT in November against 66 MT in the corresponding month a year ago, CIL said in a regulatory filing to BSE. Coal offtake by CIL, which is the amount of dry fuel supplied from coal pitheads, rose by 1.5 per cent to 492.6 MT in the April-November period of the current fiscal, compared to 485.2 MT in the year-ago period. The company's coal offtake in November was almost flat at 63 MT, over 62.9 MT in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, the filing said. Coal India Ltd said it produced 773.6 million tonnes of coal in 2023-24 but fell short of its production target of 780 MT for the fiscal. Its production was 703.2 MT in the preceding 2022-23