Coal news and updates

Phase three of coal mines auction with JSPL, Hindalco, Vedanta to begin tomorrow

Third leg of coal mines auction will kick-off tomorrow with firms like JSPL, Hindalco, Vedanta and JSW Steel in the fray for five blocks that the government has put up for bidding.

Two mines on offer tomorrow are Marki Mangli-I mine in Maharashtra and Bhaskarpara mine in Chhattisgarh.

The third tranche follows the government garnering over Rs 2 lakh crore in the first two phases of mines auction earlier this year.

The companies in the race for Marki Mangli-I mine are G .Grace Industries Ltd, Lloyds Metals and Energy Ltd and Topworth Urja & Metals Ltd.

Firms vying for Bhaskarpara mine are Jindal SteelBSE 3.35 % and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Crest Steel and Power Pvt Ltd and Godawari Natural Resources Ltd.

While the extractable reserves of Marki Mangli-I mine is 9.96 million tonnes (MT), for Bhaskarpara mine it is 24.06 MT.

On Wednesday, Chitarpur mine in Jharkhand will be put on offer, while on Thursday Parbatpur Central mine in Jharkhand and Majra mine in Maharastra will be put up for auction.

The schedule for the auction of Jamkhani coal mine in Odisha will be announced at a later date due to court case.

"Pursuant to the Delhi High Court case, the schedule for e-auction of Jamkhani Coal Mine shall be announced at a later date," the Coal Ministry said on its website.

Last week, 22 applications from companies including Hindalco, Vedanta, JSW Steel and SAIL had cleared the initial  .. stages.

The government had earlier said it will auction 10 coal mines for steel, cement as well as captive power plants.

It has so far auctioned 29 coal blocks in two tranches to private companies and garnered over Rs 2 lakh crore, surpassing CAG's loss estimates of Rs 1.86 lakh crore in allotment of mines earlier without auction.

Coal Secretary Anil Swarup had earlier said the government will execute agreements with successful bidders by August 31 and "so the process by and large will be completed by August 31".

The Supreme Court in September last year had cancelled allocation of 204 coal mines to companies without auction.

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com