Coal news and updates

Problem-hit Adriyala operating at 50% capacity

December 18: Two months after being test-launched in October, the Adriyala longwall underground mining project of Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) continues to face problems with its automated electrical system and is operating at less than 50% of its capacity, a company official told ICMW.

“There are still some problems with the automation. The mine is expected to start full-fledged commercial production only after January 15,” the official said.

Earlier, commencement of commercial production was delayed by a month to December on the back of recurrent power tripping due to a fault in its automated electrical system.

Touted as the largest underground longwall project in India, Adriyala is currently producing 3,000-5,000 tons of coal per day.

“In November, total production was around 50,000 tons. The same would increase to about 100,000 tons in December,” the official said. However, the operations will be slowed down next week due to the Christmas holidays, he added.

Once fully operational, Adriyala will have a peak production level of 2.81 million tons per annum (mtpa). It involves an investment of Rs 846 crore and is the biggest project undertaken by SCCL so far. The project will feed NTPC’s Ramagundam power station in Telangana.