CIL shifts gears to overburden removal as coal demand slumps

Coal India has shifted its focus to overburden removal -- the process of removing the top soil and rock to expose coal seams in its open cast mines --as the power sector, a major consumer of the dry fuel, has witnessed almost 30 per cent drop in fuel consumption amid the lockdown, a company official said.

The enhancement in overburden removal will enable Coal India Ltd (CIL)to accelerate coal production whenever the demand picks up and coal can be supplied to its customers at short notice.

The company "has shifted its focus to the enhancement of the overburden removal...Over 95 per cent of CIL's coal production comes from its 171 open cast mines. There has been a sudden fall in demand for coal as the power sector, a major consumer of coal, witnessed almost 30 per cent fall in consumption since industries and commercial establishments are closed down due to the lockdown," the official said.

The PSU removed 114.43 million cubic metres of overburden in its open cast mines in April, as compared to 104.22 million cubic metres during the same period last year, registering an increase of 9.7 per cent.

A Central Electricity Authority (CEA) report said that as on April 30, 2020, there were 50.89 million tonnes of coal stocked up at the power houses in India, enough to last for 31 days.

CIL itself has a pit-head stock of about 76 million tonnes as on April 30.

The PSU is in regular touch with its customers, especially in the southern states, and is pursuing them to increase the intake of domestic coal as a substitute for imported coal.