Coal India to close down 23 unviable mines, to help save around Rs 500 cr

Coal India Limited has decided

to close down 23 unviable mines and it would help save the company around Rs 500 crore considering all costs, officials said on Tuesday.

The worlds largest miner has shut down 82 such mines in the last three-four years.

Those 23 mines, comprising open cast and underground ones, to be closed down were identified in the last fiscal, officials said.

Underground mines are a major focus for closures as they are not remunerative. Some 158 underground mines employ 43 per cent of the workforce but contribute only 5 per cent of the total production, they said.

“Action is being taken to close the unviable mines in CIL in a phased manner. Production from 11 such underground mines has already been suspended,” an official said.

The dry fuel major was also engaging Mine Developer and Operator (MDOs) in greenfield projects.

It plans to engage MDOs for 15 projects – 10 open cast and 5 underground – with a combined total targeted capacity of about 160 million tonne per year (MTY), officials said.

Out of the 15 projects, work order has been issued for two of 45 MTY. The remaining projects are at various stages of tendering and approval, they said.

Meanwhile, in FY21, the net realisation per tonne of coal was lower at Rs 1,442 against Rs 1,538 a tonne in FY20. The officials attributed to lower sales in e-auction and subdued price due to lockdown disruptions.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor