Ministry of Coal (MoC) has initiated financial bid round under sixth tranche of commercial mining scheme for sale of 27 coal blocks that will be auctioned over a span of an 8-day period.
On the first day, 10 coal blocks, having cumulative geological reserves of around 1,867 million tonne, were put up on sale. Against which, end-user industries showed greater interest in acquiring the coal blocks, wherein JSW Steel, Dalmia Cement and Shree Cement were some of the renowned players featuring in the winners’ list.
In this round, technically qualified bidders placed bids in terms of percentage share of revenue payable with the government. Accordingly, the bidder with the highest bid was adjudged winner for that block.
Out of 10 blocks, six were bagged by industries belonging to steel and metallurgical sector, while three were cement companies. The remaining two winners came from mining industry.
Blocks secured at relative ease
The outcome of the final auction on day 1 showed moderate response from participants as the offered blocks were booked at a comparatively lower final bid price.
Among the lot, a modest contest was seen for the Parbatpur Central block which accumulated reserves of coking coal specification. Eventually, JSW Steel edged out Vedanta by placing a winning bid of 31.5%, the highest for this round.
Meanwhile, Datima and Mandla North blocks received bid price in excess of 20%. In particular, a maximum of five bidders were in contention for Datima block. In a sharp contrast, seven blocks managed only two bidders each.
However, final bids received for the remaining blocks were in between 5-16%, indicating the relative ease at which these blocks were acquired. Overall, the 10 blocks were booked at an average final price of 14.53%. Thus, they garnered a premium of 8.73% over the average floor price of 5.8%.
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