Concerned over the import dependency on Coking Coal in India, the Steel Ministry has asked the state-run miner—Coal India Limited (CIL)—to set up more number of Washeries at its coal mine pitheads, so that the Coking Coal extracted from the mines could be washed to enable usage by the steel companies.
The underlying objective of the request was to increase the availability of Coking Coal in the country, so that imports of the coal will come down.
In India, Coking Coal is predominantly imported from Australia. And, with the coal washing initiative, the government wants to bring down the imports by 25-30%.
In any case, demand for Coking Coal is going to increase substantially in the country in the future as the government has stressed heavily on undertaking infrastructure projects. Against the government’s emphasis on infrastructure projects, it has been estimated that around INR 40,000 crore of steel will be consumed in the country.
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