Coal Ministry eyes 140 MT coking coal production by 2030

At a time when the world has been focusing on reducing the usage of coal and accelerating its dependence on renewable energy, the Coal Ministry on Saturday said that the country's domestic raw coking coal output may touch 140 million tonnes (MT) by 2030 from the present 51.7 MT

New Delhi:At a time when the world has been focusing on reducing the usage of coal and accelerating its dependence on renewable energy, the Coal Ministry on Saturday said that the country's domestic raw coking coal output may touch 140 million tonnes (MT) by 2030 from the present 51.7 MT.

As India has pledged to meet 50 percent energy requirement from renewable sources by 2030, the Ministry also announces that Coal India Limited is planning to set up and operationalise nine more new washeries with a capacity of 30 MTPA (Million Ton per annum). Currently, the domestic raw coking coal washing capacity is about 23 MT per annum including 9.26 MT of the private sector.

"With setting up of new washeries, it is estimated that CIL will be able to supply about 15 MT of washed coking coal to the steel sector, thereby reducing import of coking coal," the Coal Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry of Coal has auctioned 10 coking coal blocks to the private sector with a PRC of 22.5 MT during the last two years. Most of these blocks are expected to start production by 2025, said the Ministry.

"The Ministry has also identified four coking coal blocks and the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) also will finalize GR for 4 to 6 new coking coal blocks in the next two months. These blocks may be offered in subsequent rounds of auction for private sector to further step up domestic raw coking coal supply in the country," the Ministry said in a statement.

Apart from this, Coal India Ltd (CIL), which accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output, has planned to increase raw coking coal production from existing mines up to 26 MT and identified nine new mines with peak rated capacity of about 20 MT by FY25. The Coal Ministry opines that with new measures taken under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, domestic raw coking coal production is likely to reach 140 MT by 2030.