Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL) is facing tough times operating its two coal mines as intermittent obstructions have pushed the projects towards the threshold of becoming economically unviable for the company.
Officials from MCL have mandated that weaker performance from both Kaniha and Balram mines have made it difficult for the subsidiary to attain its 160 MnT production target for FY20, while labeling them as non-profitable assets.
While coal mines in entire Talcher area suffered from strike and agitation, Kaniha opencast project having a potential to produce 10 MnT coal per annum, saw a record 53 days of stoppages during the current fiscal year.
Similarly, outages at Balram opencast mine was recorded for 40 days in the current fiscal year because of the strike by the villagers.
At Talcher coalfields, all the mines have suffered production loss due to the protest this year, with Lingaraj OCP being the least affected following mine closure seen for only around 15 days.
Coal India is facing tough times because of heavy rain in the past two months at some of its subsidiaries, whereas in case of MCL the performance has been worsened by protest.
During the first 7 months of FY20 (Apr-Oct’19), MCL’s coal production has came down 12% Y-o-Y to 64.17 MnT as against 72.97 MnT noted in the year-ago period.
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