Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal is likely to make a 10-day visit to three European nations next month, seeking technology for underground coal mining.
"The minister, along with his delegation, is likely to visit Czech Republic, Belarus and Poland in June seeking technology for underground mining," an official in the Coal Ministry said.
The 10-day visit is likely to begin from June 22, the official said. The high-level delegation is expected to consist of Coal Secretary C Balakrishnan, Coal India Chairman NC Jha among others.
The Coal Minister also made a visit along with his delegation to South Africa in the beginning of this year and sought modern technology for underground coal mining.
India had also sought cooperation for technologies on underground coal gasification and coal benefication from South Africa.
South African government had also offered the expertise of its companies in setting up coal washeries, deep coal mining technology and clean coal technology while inviting investments in the South African coal sector.
Besides, both countries had agreed to exchange research and development initiatives in the area of extraction of coal-bed methane before exploiting coal resources.
During the visit, India had also sought the cooperation of the South African government to enable Indian companies to acquire coal assets there.
Jaiswal had said Coal India was interested in acquiring coal assets in the South African nation and had said that cooperation with the South African government was aimed at bridging the growing domestic demand-supply gap.
A number of Indian firms have evinced interest in buying assets in South Africa, including CIL, which accounts for over 85% of the domestic coal production, NMDC, MOIL and Tata Steel.
