The Hindu : Business : Coal India favours EOI route for developing abandoned mines

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Coal India favours EOI route for developing abandoned mines

Indrani Dutta

Mittal group keen on joining hands with CIL
Technology aspects to be checked out

KOLKATA: The Board of Coal India Ltd (CIL) has given its in-principle approval to a proposal to develop some of its abandoned mines. However, it has been decided that the expression of interest (EOI) route would be followed in this respect. The EOI may be floated by the end of this month.

The board also took note of a recent study, which has revealed that about 350 million tonnes of coal were lying in mostly underground mines of CIL, some of which had been abandoned since the pre-nationalisation days.

The study, conducted by the CIL subsidiary, the Central Mine Planning Development and Research Institute Ltd (CMPDIL), follows the proposal received by the Union Coal Ministry from the L. N. Mittal group expressing its keenness to strike a joint venture with CIL for developing abandoned mines.

The CIL board decision which was taken after a meeting of the majority of its directors in New Delhi, on Tuesday, effectively meant that the global tender route rather than the nomination route was being favoured.

The five full-time directors of CIL, including its chairman as well as some of the independent directors were present during the meeting. When contacted, senior Coal Ministry officials told The Hindu that they had invited CIL’s comments after receiving the proposal and would take a view only on receiving the comments.

It may be mentioned in this context that in March this year the Union Coal Ministry had received a proposal from the L. N. Mittal group expressing its keenness to strike a joint venture with CIL for extracting coal from abandoned mines. CIL chairman had said at a press conference that while the company would await government directives in this regard, it would prefer the EOI route and would go in for the nomination route only under government directives to do so.

Meanwhile, the CMPDIL study has revealed that there are 26 abandoned mines with reserves of 350 million tonnes of reasonably good quality non-coking coal and some coking coal which lie in the eastern region coalfields at Eastern Coalfields, Central Coalfields and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. CMPDIL was asked to look only at those mines which had reserves of over 10 million tonnes.

It was found that these mostly lie in the deeper seams. Sources said that these mines were abandoned due to various reasons, including issues of economic viability and safety of the miners working in certain seams and of the people living above the mines in cases where the mines were in densely-populated areas.

However, sources said that while the technology options would have to be checked out, the economic feasibility may have changed now with CIF prices of coal ruling at a high of $159 /tonne now.

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