Hindalco loses chance to acquire Mahan and Talabira coal blocks after reallocation

The recent reallocation of mines ordered by the Indian Government has dashed Hindalco’s hopes of bidding for the Mahan coal block to power its smelter as the Coal Ministry has specifically marked it for the power sector.

Hindlaco had planned to use the coal from Mahan to power the Mahan Aluminium smelter where the company had invested around INR 10,500 crore.

The Odisha-based Mahan coal block had been earlier assigned to Essar Power and Hindalco and now it has been reserved wholly for the power sector, which means that although Hindalco cannot access the mine, Essar Power can if it decides to bid for it.

Hindalco also hoped that it would get a second chance at the Talabira coal block which had been de-allocated by the Supreme Court on 24th September. The mine could provide the power to fuel the company’s expansion plans for the existing Hirakud smelter but that too has been reserved for the power sector.