Coal news and updates

Coal India may miss production target for 2015-16 by 10 mn tonnes

After missing its production target for the past seven months, Coal India may eventually end the ongoing fiscal year with a shortfall of 10 million tonnes (mt) or about two per cent of the marked output.

The company, officials said, had targeted around 550 mt, but owing to issues ranging from delays in getting forest and environmental clearances and coal evacuation to natural causes like rainfall, the production may fall short by around 10 mt.

"The major problem is delay in getting the forest and environment clearances. We are not able to step up production on these grounds," a senior official in the company told Business Standard.

He said, the rainy season had also impacted production particularly in the mines of South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a Coal India subsidiary. During June-August this year, SECL's yield fell behind by five per cent while the total coal production of Coal India and all its subsidiary units lagged four per cent by 4.55 mt.

However, the following three months of September-November also saw a shortfall of 4.64 per cent in its total output.

Another official in the company said, acquisition of land was a key issue plaguing another of its key subsidiary, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

"We are not getting enough cooperation from the Odisha state government," he told this newspaper.

These two Coal India subsidiary firms -- SECL and MCL -- are poised to play a key part in the country's objective to attain one billion tonne of coal production by 2020.

According to the union mining ministry?s roadmap, while the targeted output by the given timeframe from SECL is 240 mt, from MCL it is about 250 mt.

This year so far, however, both of these key subsidiary firms have lagged behind target.

Against the target of 89.85 mt of coal from April-November this year, MCL was able to achieve 92.95 percent of the same at 83.52 mt while SECL fared better to complete 97.51 percent of its targeted output of 85.43 mt of coal.

On the offtake front too, the world's largest coal miner is faced with a shortfall in its target as 350.2 mt of coal or 97.41 percent of the marked 350.2 mt could be achieved.

?The thermal plants across the country have enough stocks of coal at the moment?, the official said adding that it was a primary reason for the lag in offtake.

From April-November this year, Coal India had targeted an offtake of 350.2 mt of coal but was able to complete 341.12 mt.

?Power demand is not growing and hence the requirement of coal is also not jumping?, he said.

The company, nevertheless is confident to perform well during the months January-March 2016, as major equipment deployment and other evacuation means are underway whereby at least another 304 mt can be further mined out during the last two quarters of the current fiscal year.

For the first six months of the ongoing fiscal year, against the target of 235.9 mt of coal, 229.53 mt of the black mineral could be dug out.

source: http://www.business-standard.com