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New approach to revive abandoned mines

KOLKATA: The October 13 deadline for filing expressions of interest (EoI) for salvaging, reopening and rehabilitating the abandoned mines of Coal India Ltd. (CIL) is set to be extended by around a month. A global tender was floated for this purpose in August.

This follows a rethink that a consortium approach may be better in reopening and reviving these mines, some of which have been closed since pre-nationalisation days in the 1970s. The issue regarding the development of these mines, which lie mostly in the eastern part of the country, arose following an interest shown in March this year by Arcelor Mittal to form a joint venture with CIL in this respect. Many of these mines contain coking coal reserves, a scarce but precious commodity for steel-makers.

However, CIL, which owns these mines, preferred a global tender route rather than a nomination route for developing these mines, since it felt that issues such as safety, technology and viability will be best addressed in this manner.

Following a visit by a top-level CIL delegation led by the Chairman to a Mining Expo in the U.S. last week, it was felt that it was only through a consortium approach that the three crucial aspects of technology, equipment and safety practices could be employed while trying to revive the mines.

For the purpose of EoI, 18 abandoned or derelict mines were offered in the Ranigunj-Jharia coal belt for the proposed joint venture company. The cumulative reserves were estimated at 1,647 million tonnes.

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