The coal ministry said that a total of 46 companies submitted bids for the auction, including 15 first-time participants in the commercial coal mine auction. This includes Coal India subsidiary Western Coalfields
Jindal Steel and Power, JSW Steel, Adani Natural Resources, Western Coalfields, and 42 other firms have bid for 20 coal mines being auctioned in the Centre's 11th round of commercial coal mine auctions. In December last year, the Ministry of Coal put up 27 coal blocks for auction, aiming to generate up to Rs 1,446 crore in annual revenue.
The coal ministry said that a total of 46 companies submitted bids for the auction, including 15 first-time participants in the commercial coal mine auction. This includes Coal India subsidiary Western Coalfields.
Among other firms competing are Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation Ltd, Orissa Metaliks Pvt Ltd, Jharkhand Exploration and Mining Corporation Ltd, and Orissa Alloy Steel Pvt Ltd.
"This round received unprecedented responses from the bidders," the ministry said.
The bids will now be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary Technical Evaluation Committee. Technically qualified bidders will be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction on the MSTC portal.
The Centre is auctioning 27 coal blocks across Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh, including both fully explored and partially explored mines. Except for one block in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara, all others are non-coking coal mines.
The Indian government reportedly planned to auction off 50 additional coal mining blocks in FY25, but, only 25 have been put up for bidding in the 11th round of auctions. This follows the 10th rounds, where 67 blocks were made available to private and state players.
Since the coal mining sector was opened to commercial mining by private players in 2020, a total of 107 blocks have been auctioned, with a peak rated capacity of 256 million tonnes. Of these, 11 mines have become operational, producing 147 million tonnes of coal in FY24, a 27% year-on-year growth compared to FY23. The government has set ambitious production targets, aiming for 186.63 million tonnes in FY25, 225.69 million tonnes in FY26, and eventually 383.56 million tonnes by FY30.