More coking coal mines to be offered in auction

Govt has set up 2 committees under Assistant Secretary (Coal) for making suggestions on augmentation and consumption of domestic coking coal by the steel sector under Coking Coal Mission.

In order to reduce imports of coking coal for steel making, more coking coal blocks are proposed to be included for auction for the allocation of blocks to the steel sector to maximize the availability of coking coal, the Ministry of Coal has said in a recent strategy note for FY22.

The next tranche of commercial mines auction would be launched in October November period of 2021, Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi has said.

While details of most of these mines are already available in the public domain, some more mines shall be added in the list, the minister said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Coal has come out with a tender document for the second attempt of the auction of 11 coal mines in the ongoing auction tranche for the coal mines, which have received single bids.

Coking Coal Mission

The Coking Coal Mission has been set up by the coal ministry for augmenting coking coal production and making available the maximum quantity of metallurgical coal for steel making in the country. Two committees under Assistant Secretary (Coal) have been constituted for making suggestions on augmentation and consumption of domestic coking coal by the steel sector under Coking Coal Mission:

♦ Inter-Ministerial Committee

♦ Technical Advisory Group

The mandate of the inter-ministerial committee is as under

♦ To suggest a national strategy to enhance coking coal and suggest a road map to explore more coking coal

♦ To suggest R&D to beneficiate coking coal to reduce ash percentage with upgraded technology

♦ Methodology to increase the private sector to set up coking coal washeries

♦ Examine the domestic coking coal and suggest a competitive pricing strategy