Coal news and updates

World’s largest Longwall maker eyes Indian market

China Coal Overseas Development Co Ltd (CODCO), a subsidiary of China National Coal Mining Equipment Co Ltd (CME), the world’s largest longwall equipment manufacturer and technology provider, is looking at penetrating the Indian underground coal mining sector, a company source told ICMW.

“Up to now, CODCO has successfully exported dozens of fully mechanised Longwall equipment as well as belt conveyor systems and other mining equipment to countries like Turkey, Bangladesh, the US, Vietnam, Australia, Russia, Thailand, the UK, Indonesia, Philippines and Ethiopia,” the source said at the 6^th International Mining Exhibition (IME) 2016.

“In India, we have signed an agreement with Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) for the Jhanjra mine which produces around 900,000 tons of coal per annum,” he said.

“We are actively looking at new underground blocks coming up across various Indian states. We aim to be a major player in the country in Longwall mining,” the source added.

Asked about the slide in the Chinese coal sector, he said the government’s decision to cut down on coal use for environmental reasons has impacted the equipment industry.

“However, in order to survive the slowdown in the Chinese coal sector, we are focusing more on the export markets, which include India,” he said.