Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India, is set to bring two new coal mines into production during the ongoing financial year, which is expected to boost its capacity by 10-12 million tonnes annually, according to a top official.
Image credit: clarke-energy.com
This expansion effort aligns with CCL’s production targets of surpassing 110 million tonnes this fiscal and reaching 150 million tonnes by 2030.
“We have planned to open two new mines this year,” said Nilendu Kumar Singh, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of CCL, speaking to reporters.
Production at the Kotre Basantpur block, a coking coal mine with a peak rated capacity of 5 million tonnes, is scheduled to commence by October 2025. Meanwhile, the Chandragupta open-cast project, a non-coking coal mine with a capacity of 15 million tonnes per annum, is expected to begin production by March 2026.
In FY25, the company achieved a record production of 87.5 million tonnes, the highest in its history. Singh emphasised the need for early preparation to reach the 2030 goal of 150 million tonnes.
To meet this target, CCL will focus on enhancing the capacity of its existing mines and expediting the operationalisation of new ones.
Currently, CCL operates 35 open-cast mines and three underground mines across 14 command areas in eight districts of Jharkhand.
Additionally, the company is planning to establish four new coal washeries with a combined capacity of approximately 14 million tonnes over the next two to three years. A coal washery improves the quality of raw coal by removing ash, rocks and other impurities, making it more suitable for use in power generation and steel production.
At present, CCL runs five operational coal washeries, four for coking coal and one for non-coking coal.
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