Coal news and updates

HINDALCO’s aggressive bid trend continues

February 19: HINDALCO Industries Limited continued with its aggressive bidding to win the second working coal mines in the first round of auction and emerged as the highest bidder for one more mine – Gare Palma IV/5 – on February 19 with a price of Rs 3,502 per ton of coal to be mined.

This was HINDALCO’s second successful bid after it won the Kathautia block on February with a bid of Rs 2,860 per ton.

Earlier on February 17, Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd (BALCO) had bid Rs 3,025 per ton of coal to be mined from the Chotia mine.

Besides HINDALCO, Essar Power MP Limited and Jindal Power Ltd too emerged as the top bidders for Tokisud North and Gare Palma IV/ 2 and 3 with a price tag of Rs 1,110 per ton and Rs 108 per ton of coal to be mined.

HINDALCO outbid other contenders – Ambuja Cements Ltd, Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd, which had submitted two bids, Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd, Rungta Mines Ltd, Sarda Energy & Minerals Ltd and Sesa Sterlite Ltd – to win Gare Palma IV/5 mine.

The mine earlier had been allotted to Monnet Ispat and Energy and is located in the Mand Raigarh coalfields of Chhattisgarh. It has estimated reserves of 126 million tons.

Tokisud North, in which Essar Power MP Ltd emerged the highest bidder, had been earlier allotted to GVK Power (Govindwal Sahib) Ltd through the screening committee route in January 2002 and is located in the South Karanpura coalfields in Jharkhand. It has estimated reserves of 92.3 million tons.

Tokisud North had a total of 12 bidders – Adani Power Ltd, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd, Dhariwal Infrastructure Ltd, Essar Power MP Ltd, GMR Chhattisgarh Energy Ltd, GVK Power Goindwal Sahib Limited, India Power Corporation Haldia Limited, Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd, Jindal Power Ltd, Lanco Amarkantak Power Ltd and The West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd.

Gare Palma IV/ 2 & 3 located in Mand Raigarh coalfields in Chhattisgarh with total reserves of 246 mt had a total 11 bidders, including three from Jindal Power Ltd, which ultimately emerged top bidder with a bid price of Rs 108 per ton.

The other bidders for the mine were Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd, D B Power Ltd, Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd, JSW Energy Ltd, KSK Mahanadi Power Co. Ltd, Reliance Geothermal Power Pvt Ltd and Sesa Sterlite Ltd.

Following table provides results of e-auction for Schedule – II coal mines (till February 19, 2015):