Coal India subsidiary MCL posts record 168 mt production in FY'22

Coal India subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd clocked a record production of over 168 million tonne in the 2021-22 financial year, registering a growth of around 14 per cent over the previous fiscal, an official said on Friday.

The Odisha-based miner dispatched 176.17 mt of coal to its consumers, with a 21 per cent growth over the previous year, MCL chairman-cum-managing director Om Prakash Singh said.

The Sambalpur-headquartered firm has set a target of producing 176 mt of coal in 2022-23.

The record production of 168.17 mt in the last fiscal is 103 per cent of the target set by it, Singh said at a press conference in Bhubaneswar.

He stated that the capital expenditure of the miner was Rs 3,805 crore in the 2021-22 fiscal, as the outlay would meet future goals.

"We have also made advance preparations, keeping in view the monsoon season and other operational challenges, to meet the rising demand by producing more coal," he said.

Singh claimed that the Miniratna public sector unit had been successful in meeting the growing coal demand during the third quarter of the last financial year, despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It is estimated that the demand will continue to remain high in the coming months," the official said.

The firm has registered a growth of more than 18 per cent in overburden removal, which will help in increasing coal production in the new fiscal, Singh said.

MCL has mining operations in Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Angul districts of Odisha.