Page 9 - Coal

Centre issues allocation orders to successful bidders of 22 coal blocks

The nominated authority, Ministry of Coal has issued vesting orders for 22 coal mines to successful bidders of coal blocks, said the ministry

Cabinet approves Rs 2,980 cr for Exploration of Coal and Lignite scheme

The government on Wednesday approved the continuation of the central sector plan 'Exploration of Coal and Lignite scheme' with an estimated expenditure of Rs 2,980 crore. The time period for the extension is from 2021-22 to 2025-26 co-terminus with the 15th Finance Commission cycle, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) said in a statement. "The CCEA chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the continuation of the Central Sector Scheme of "Exploration of Coal and Lignite scheme" with an estimated expenditure of Rs 2,980 crore from 2021-22 to 2025-26 co-terminus with the 15th Finance Commission cycle," it said. Under this scheme, exploration for coal and lignite is conducted in two broad stages: (i) Promotional (Regional) Exploration and (ii) Detailed Exploration in non-Coal India Limited blocks. The approval will provide an outlay of Rs 1,650 crore for promotional (Regional) exploration and Rs 1,330 crore for detailed drilling in non-CIL areas, the statement ...

Will not face shortage of coal this year, even during Monsoon: Pralhad

India will not face any shortage of coal this year even during the monsoon, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said on Tuesday. No matter what is the demand this year, the government is prepared to meet the same, the minister said at a conference on underground coal mining here. "I assure the country on behalf of Coal India and the coal ministry that there will not be any shortage of coal even in the monsoon this time," he said. The preparation is good and it is "our responsibility" to meet the entire demand this year, Joshi said. Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the event, the minister said while 35 million tonne (MT) coal is at thermal power plants, 65 MT is lying at pit heads of Coal India and private miners and another 10-12 MT is in various stages of transportation. On the movement of coal through rakes, Joshi said the ministry is working in close coordination with Railways for movement of the dry fuel from pit heads to locations. Earlier, the minister also unveiled Co

Coal India share sale over-subscribed, govt to get more than Rs 4,000 crore

The Coal India share sale was over-subscribed by both retail and institutional investors and the government is expected to get more than Rs 4,000 crore. In the two-day offer for sale (OFS), the government sold its 18.48 crore shares or 3 per cent stake in Coal India at a floor price of Rs 225 apiece. At the floor price, the stake sale would fetch over Rs 4,000 crore to the exchequer. Institutional investors had on Thursday put in bids for over 28.76 crore share, while retail buyers on Friday bid for over 2.58 crore shares of Coal India. Institutional bidders on Friday put in bids for 5.12 crore shares. Coal India OFS is the maiden government stake sale of a public sector undertaking in the current fiscal. The government currently holds 66.13 per cent in CIL. The stake sale in Coal India will help the government inch towards the Rs 51,000-crore disinvestment target set for the current fiscal. Shares of Coal India settled for the day at Rs 230.90 apiece on the BSE, up 0.15 per cen

Coal production up 7.10% YoY at 76.26 MT in May, dispatch rises 5.7% MoM

Domestic coal production was 7.10 per cent higher year-on-year at 76.26 million tonne (MT) in May. India had produced 71.21 MT coal during the same month in 2022, the coal ministry said in a statement. "Ministry of Coal has achieved a remarkable feat with a substantial surge in overall coal production during May 23, reaching 76.26 MT surpassing May 22 of 71.21 MT, representing an increase of 7.10 per cent," it said. The cumulative coal production in April-May FY24 jumped to 149.41 MT from 138.41 MT in the year-ago period. Last month, Coal India Ltd (CIL) alone produced 59.94 MT coal, up 9.54 per cent over 54.72 MT in May 2022. With an increased first-mile connectivity infrastructure, coal dispatch last month grew 5.70 per cent to 82.22 MT from 77.79 MT in May 2022. First-mile connectivity refers to the transportation of coal from pitheads to dispatch points. The cumulative coal dispatch in April-May FY24 stood at 162.44 MT as against 149.76 MT in the year-ago period. This upturn

CIL hikes non-coking coal prices by 8%; expects Rs 2,703 crore revenue

Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Tuesday said it has increased prices of non-coking coal by 8 per cent. The prices will come into effect from Wednesday, the miner said in a regulatory filing. "The Board has approved a price increase of 8 per cent over the existing notified prices for high-grade coal of grade G2 to G10. This will be applicable to all subsidiaries, including NEC, for regulated and non-regulated sectors," CIL said. The board of directors of the company approved the revision in the prices of non-coking coal with effect from 00:00 hours of May 31, 2023, it said. Following this revision, CIL is expecting to earn incremental revenue of Rs 2,703 crore for the balance period of the financial year 2023-24. Thermal coal is a non-coking coal used by power plants to generate electricity. A rise in its prices impacts the power generation cost. Coal India, under the Ministry of Coal, is the largest coal producer in India. As per official data, in April 2022, the country's overall coal

JSW Steel eyes coking coal assets to beef up raw material security

Target is to have 25% linkages in the next few yrs: Acharya

790 million tonnes and rising: Big & small MDOs help meet coal demand

Rising electricity demand is pushing for more coal mining as thermal power continues to be the backbone of supply

Govt extends last date to submit bids under 7th tranche of coal auctions

The government has extended the last date to submit bids under the seventh round of commercial coal auctions till June 27, 2023, an official statement said Wednesday. The government had earlier fixed May 30 as the last date to submit bids for the 106 coal mines that were put on the block in the latest round of auctions. On March 29, the government launched the seventh round of commercial coal auctions in a bid to increase the availability of the dry fuel in the country. In a statement, the Ministry of Coal said: "In view of requests received from a large number of potential bidders, it has extended the last date for bid submission by 28 days and now the last date for bid submission for the seventh round of auctions is 27.06.2023 which was 30.5.2023 earlier." The ministry further said that so far 133 mines with cumulative peak rated capacity (PRC) of 540 million tonne per annum (MTPA) have been allocated/auctioned. In order to facilitate the private players for early development of

Coal imports could be cut as CIL output rise to 1 bn tonnes: PM Prasad

Imports of non coking coal could be cut drastically by fiscal 2025-26 on the back of increased output of dry fuel in the country, P M Prasad, Chairman and Managing Director of Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) said. The chairman of the Coal India subsidiary said the world's largest coal miner, Coal India Ltd, would be able to produce one billion tonnes by FY26. "We have to see that targets are in place. Last year (fiscal 2022-23) we (Coal India) produced 703 million tonne. The target for FY 24 is 780 MT and FY 25 is 880 MT, Prasad, whose name was recommended by the PESB earlier this month for the job of CMD of Coal India Ltd, told PTI. He added that the CIL production will touch one billion tonnes in FY 26. If we achieve this, definitely imports of non-coking coal will be reduced....within three years non coking coal imports can be brought down to a minimum level," Prasad said. India's overall coal production has witnessed a quantum jump to 893.08 MT in FY 2022-23 as compared to 728.

Refex Industries posts standalone PAT of Rs 50.67 crore in Jan-Mar quarter

Refex Industries Ltd, engaged in selling refrigerant gases and handling coal ash and fly ash, has reported a standalone profit after tax of Rs 50.67 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2023, the company said on Friday. During the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the figure stood at Rs 24.01 crore. For the year ending March 31, 2023 the standalone profit after tax grew to Rs 116.06 crore, compared to Rs 45.38 crore a year ago. Refex's standalone total income during the quarter under review went up to Rs 631.97 crore from Rs 178.11 crore in the same period of the previous year. For the year ending March 31, 2023 that figure rose to Rs 1,637.43 crore from Rs 448.98 crore in the last financial year. In a press release, the company said, "This quarter has shown an unprecedented result which is a testimony to our rigorous efforts and commitment." "Even at the quarterly level, the business segments have been able to keep the momentum that had been achieved through the quar

Coal to stay important: Energy majors at 'Just Transition' meeting

At CIL, challenges would be "the most extreme", said its Chairman and Managing Director Pramod Agrawal

Coal imports rises to 162 MT in FY23; inbound coking coal grows to 54 MT

India's coal imports increased by 30 per cent to 162.46 million tonnes in the 2022-23 financial year against 124.99 MT in the year-ago period, according to a report. The import of coking coal rose 5.44 per cent to 54.46 MT over 51.65 MT in FY22, mjunction said in its latest report. In March alone, the non-coking coal import stood at 13.88 MT against 12.61 MT in the same month last year. Coking coal imports were 3.96 MT against 4.76 MT imported in March 2022. India is among the top five coal-producing countries in the world. However, some parts of its coal requirement are met through imports as the country is also among the major consumers of the dry fuel. For coking coal -- a key raw material used in steel making -- the country remains heavily dependent on imports. "The persistently high demand for steam coal in India coupled with the weakening of seaborne prices led to increased volumes during March. This trend is likely to continue in coming months in view of the above-normal ..

Coal to dominate India power mix until 2030 despite record renewables push

Modi's administration has previously opposed international efforts to set firm deadlines to phase out the use of coal and envisages a key role for the fuel for decades to come

India's coal production rises 22.6% in 5 years to 893.08 mn tonnes in FY23

India's coal production has registered a growth of about 23 per cent in last five years to 893.08 million tonnes (MT) in FY23, an official statement said on Wednesday. "India's overall coal production has seen a quantum jump to 893.08 MT in FY 2022-23 as compared to 728.72 MT in FY 2018-2019 with a growth of about 22.6 per cent," the coal ministry said. In the last five years, the production of Coal India Limited (CIL) has increased to 703.21 MT from 606.89 MT in FY19, registering a growth of 15.9 per cent. While Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has registered a growth of 4.3 per cent at 67.14 MT in FY23 compared to 64.40 MT in FY19. Contribution from captive and other mines to the total coal output also increased to 122.72 MT in FY23, up 113.7 per cent from 57.43 MT in FY19.

Govt aims for 1 bn coal production, Rs 21,030 cr capex for PSUs in FY24

In a first, the coal ministry has set an ambitious target of 1 billion tonne coal production during 2023-24 under its 'Action Plan' for the sector and a capex target of Rs 21,030 crore for its PSUs. In a statement, the ministry said it has conceptualized the Action Plan for FY24 with the goal of achieving Aatmanirbhar Bharat by enhancing the production, efficiency, sustainability, new technologies etc in the coal sector. "It is an ambitious, well-crafted roadmap that covers a variety of areas including a total coal production target of 1012 MT for 2023-24," it said. The ministry has already taken various steps to increase the coal production and efficiency like mining developers cum operators (MDO) for the operationalization of CIL (Coal India) mines/blocks and production in discontinued/abandoned mines on the revenue sharing basis. The ministry has also formulated a strategy to enhance coking coal availability in the country to reduce imports. Coal companies along with the ministr

Coal ministry aims to produce 1,012 million tonnes of dry fuel in FY24

Coal ministry aims to produce 1,012 million tonnes of dry fuel in the current financial year

India's coal output rises 8.67% YoY to record 73.02 mn tonnes in April

India's coal production rose 8.67 per cent year-on-year to record 73.02 million tonnes in April this year. "India's coal production has made a new record of the highest production during the month of April 2023, achieving 73.02 million tonnes (MT) of coal with a growth of 8.67 per cent as compared to 67.20 MT during April 2022," a coal ministry statement said. Coal India Ltd (CIL) reported production of 57.57 MT in April 2023 compared to 53.47 MT in Apr 2022, representing an increase of 7.67 per cent, it added. The Ministry of Coal has paved the way for releasing additional coal in the market by greater utilisation of mining capacities of captive/private coal blocks, which has led to an increase in coal production by 17.52 per cent to 9.88 MT (provisional figure) in April 2023 compared to 8.41 MT in April 2022. The total coal despatch (supply) has registered a growth of 11.76 per cent -- from 71.99 MT in April 2022 to 80.45 MT in April 2023. This is mainly due to the initiatives t

Biden plans to stringent limits on GHG emissions on coal, gas power plants

The White House is in the final stages of reviewing a draft proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency, which would target both new and existing power plants

Coal exports: Low quality, rising power consumption may be major hurdles

Back to the issue of exports, India would need to mine surplus coal beyond its domestic needs