Coal news and updates

ECL set to be out of BIFR purview, to raise UG output

April 14: Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL), the loss-making subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL), is all set to come out of the purview of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) once its financial results for 2013-14 are declared, a senior official from the company told ICMW.

The company is also planning to increase its underground coal production to over 10 million tons per annum (mtpa) from around 6.87 mt produced in 2013-14, he said.

"We are set to come out of the BIFR purview in 2013-14, ie, two years ahead of schedule. We are waiting for the financial results for 2013-14, which can be declared by the board after the audit. So, this year (2013-14), our net worth will become positive with preferential shares from CIL," the official said.

This would indeed bring happy tidings for ECL because, till 2011, the company's name meant a lost cause, even in the corridors of power in Delhi. However, now everybody takes it seriously, he added.

"Since the last two years – 2012-13 and 2013-14 – we have maintained our growth graph amongst all the subsidiaries of CIL, in production, OB removal and off-take. In 2012-13, all our growth is in double digit, and this year (2013-14) too our OB removal growth is in double digit, though production growth is only around 6.5%," the official added.

"We have achieved 104% of our production target while off-take was 100% of the target and actual OB removal was 130% of the target in 2013-14," the official said, adding, the achievement came despite the company suffering heavily during the first six months of 2013-14 as consumers were not willing to lift coal.

"Our coal production in 2013-14 was not only up nearly 6.5% percent as compared to 2012-13, our realisations from e-auction post price adjustment were also higher by around Rs 600 crore over and above the notified price," he said.

This year (2013-14), only ECL, among all CIL subsidiaries, could maintain its underground coal production and has recorded a meagre increase of 0.3% in underground coal production as compared to 2012-13, the official said.

"We plan to put in place one Longwall phase at our Jhanjhra underground mine either by the end of 2014-15 or beginning of 2015-16 and will install five more continuous miners at various mines in order to improve underground coal production to 9-10 million tons," he said, adding, ECL's underground coal production in 2013-14 was around 6.87 million tons.

"After coming up of the Longwall, which will have a capacity of 1.67 mtpa, ie, after 2016-17, we will produce over 10 mtpa of coal from our underground mines as continuous miners will also add another about 0.5 mtpa," he added.