Odisha government grants mining lease of Utkal-E coal block to NALCO

The Department of Steel and Mines of Odisha government granted the mining lease of Utkal-E coal block to National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) through a notification issued on April 12, the public sector enterprise informed on Friday.

NALCO is a leading producer of alumina and aluminium in the country.

As per the notification, the mining lease of the Utkal-E coal block is over an area of 523.73 hectares in villages Nandichhod, Gopinathpur Jungle, Kundajhari Jungle, Kosala and Korada under Chendipada Tahasil of Angul District.

"The initial capacity of Utkal-E coal block is 2 million tonnes per year with a total mineable reserve of approximately 70 million tonnes," the notification said.

"NALCO has already executed the mining lease for the Utkal D Coal block in March 2021. With the grant of Utkal D and E coal blocks, the total mineable coal reserve of the company will be 175 million tonnes, which will be pivotal in meeting the coal requirement of its Captive Power Plant at Angul in Odisha," it said.

CMD of NALCO Sridhar Patra has thanked the state and the Central governments for sanctioning the mining lease and said that the NALCO team is very optimistic about starting the mining operation from the Utkal-D coal block in this financial year.

"With the grant of the mining lease of Utkal E coal block, the planned expansion activities of the Company will get a boost and will contribute significantly to the bottom line of NALCO," he said.