52 firms keen on strategic tie-up with CIL

Coal India Limited (CIL), the country’s single largest coal producer has received an encouraging response to its global expressions of interest which it had invited in July this year. As many as 52 global companies from countries such as Australia, Mozambique and Indonesia have evinced interest in forging a strategic partnership with the coal major.

“We had asked for global expressions of interest. It has evoked a very good response and 52 companies have expressed interest”, CIL chairman Partha S Bhattacharyya told reporters on the sidelines of the second coal summit organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi.

CIL is scouting for coal assets overseas, especially in Australia, Mozambique and Indonesia to plug the demand supply shortfall in the domestic market. The coal major expects to acquire at least one overseas mine by the end of the current fiscal.

CIL has appointed Royal Bank of Canada to conduct the due diligence for exploring coal properties in Australia.

Bloomberg adds: Ten firms, including steel major ArcelorMittal are interested in developing abandoned coal mines of state-run Coal India Ltd, the chairman of the Indian firm said on Monday.

Coal India has 18 such mines in eastern India, with proven reserves of 1.6 billion tonnes of superior grade coal. "We hope to sign a contract for one or two of these blocks this (fiscal) year so that production can come from 2013/14," Partha Bhattacharyya told reporters at a conference.