NMDC to be asked to re-apply for country's largest Coal block in WB

State owned miner NMDC Ltd could be the largest coal mining
company after Coal India as the coal ministry will invite a fresh application
from it for the allocation of India's largest thermal coal block, Deocha
Pachami, in West Bengal's Birbhum district.   

A senior coal ministry official that within a couple a
months the rules for coal block application will be laid down and NMDC will be
asked to apply for block under the government dispensation route.

Despite its huge reserves, Deocha Pachami has so far
remained unexplored, owing to its difficult geology. The block is covered by a
300-metre bed of hard basalt rock. However, NMDC has now developed technology
to break the thick rock overlaying the massive coal reserve. “Our strategy is
to utilise the overburden (broken rock) in developing the road infrastructure
for offtake. This would help cover a part of the huge cost of the project,”
Nanda said.

Chairman N K Nanda said that as they will be given the
block, they will sign the joint venture and that the block would have a
production capacity of 100 million tones per annum. 

NMDC and Coal India would have a stake of 40% each in the
joint venture while West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation
will have the leftover 20%.