State-run miner, Coal India Ltd (CIL), has been scripting new highs in terms of coal production in the ongoing fiscal (FY23) on the back of remarkable contribution from its major mines.
At present, the company has near about 300 coal mines spread across different states that are operated by its various subsidiaries. Of these, the top 37 mines account for more than three-fourth of the total annual production.
Data provided by the Coal Ministry indicate that coal production by the major mines has increased by 16% y-o-y to 423.39 million tonnes (mnt) during April, 2022-January, 2023 as against 365.25 mnt in April, 2021-January, 2022.
In the process, the mines produced almost 7 mnt more coal than the progressive target of 416.48 mnt set for the period ending January, 2023.
Scale of mining
The major mines of CIL operate at different mining capacity based on the environment clearance granted to them.
The largest coal producing subsidiary, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), has maximum entries at 14 among the major mines. Two of which, namely, Samaleswari and Kaniha already achieved their respective FY23 production targets in January, while a number of other mines are on the verge of replicating the same.
Driven by the collective efforts from these mines, MCL crossed 160 mnt production mark for the second straight fiscal, thus becoming the first company to achieve this feat.
Meanwhile, all the mega mines — Dipka (38), Kusmunda (45) and Gevra (52), having production capacity in excess of 30 mnt per year fall under the basket of South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). Till January, these three mines collectively produced 93.29 mnt, thereby attaining 88% of the progressive target.
Overall, 28 out of the 37 top mines are racing ahead of their progressive target for coal production up to January, 2023.
In this regard, Rajmahal mine of ECL and Gare Pelma IV/2 and 3 of SECL exhibited below par performance, as they have produced lesser than 50% of the targeted volume till January. Of the remaining mines that are lagging behind their targets, their achievement varies in between 74-92%.
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