Vedanta emerges as the highest bidder for Jamkhani coal block in Odisha

Vedanta Ltd on Wednesday said it has emerged as the highest bidder for Jamkhani coal block in Sundargarh district, Odisha, in the 10th tranche of captive coal block auction conducted by the government.

The coal block is in proximity to the company's Jharsuguda aluminium smelter.

The Jamkhani coal block is one of the most attractive coal blocks for the company's Jharsuguda plant in terms of location, annual capacity, reserves and readiness to produce.

The approved per annum capacity of the mine is 2.6 million tonnes, it said in a release.

"It has an extractable reserve of 114 million tonnes. Once operational, it will provide fuel security, improve power availability and further strengthen the company's aluminium operations and performance".

This is the company's second coal block after Chotia coal block in Chhattisgarh that has an annual capacity of 1 million tonne.

Vedanta Limited is a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited.