JSW Steel, JSPL, Balco, others put in 26 bids for 11 coal mines

JSW Steel, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd were among the 21 firms that put in bids in the latest auction of coal mines, the government said on Wednesday.

In all, 26 bids were received for the auction of coal mines under the fourth tranche of sale of coal, the coal ministry said in a statement.

Five of the 11 coal mines put on auction received single bids.

The Gare Palma IV/6 mine in Chhattisgarh received a maximum of eight bids.

The mine was originally allotted jointly to Jindal Stel & Power Ltd (JSPL) and Malwa Sponge Iron Ltd in January 2006 to meet the coal requirement of their respective sponge iron plants in nearby Raigarh and Taraimal districts, respectively. However, the allocations, along with others, were cancelled by the Supreme Court 2014.

Utkal B1 & B2 mines in Odisha received six bids, while Chinora in Maharashtra got four and three bids came in for Rabodih OCP in Jharkhand.

"The process of 4th tranche of the auction of coal mines for sale of coal was launched on December 16, 2021. The last date of submission of the technical bid was February 28, 2022," the statement said, adding the bids were opened on Wednesday.

It said a total of 26 bids have been received against 11 coal mines. "Two or more bids have been received for 5 coal mines."

JSW Steel, JSPL, Shyman Metalics & Energy Ltd, Mahanadi Mines and Minerals Pvt Ltd and Sarda Mines Pvt Ltd bid for two mines each, while Balco, BS Ispat, Sarda Energy & Mineral Ltd and Rungta Sons Pvt Ltd were among the firms that put in single bids.

"The bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary technical evaluation committee and technically qualified bidders would be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction to be conducted on MSTC portal from March 24, 2022," the statement added.