Coal Ministry launches seventh round of commercial mines' auction

NEW DELHI: The Coal Ministry on Wednesday launched the seventh round of commercial mines' auction with a total of 106 coal blocks on offer.

Out of the 106 coal mines, 32 are new coal mines and 69 mines are being rolled over from earlier tranches. Additionally, five coal mines under the second attempt of sixth tranche are also being launched where single bids were received in the first attempt.

The mines being auctioned are spread across coal and lignite bearing states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar.

The ministry has also signed agreements for 29 coal mines which were auctioned under the sixth round of commercial coal mines auction. The cumulative peak rated capacity (PRC) of 29 coal mines is 74 million tonnes per annum.

These mines upon operationalisation will generate annual revenue of Rs 14,497 crore calculated at PRC of the reserves and will provide employment to about one lakh people.

The auction shall be held online through a transparent two stage process, on the basis of percentage revenue share.

SBI Capital Markets Ltd, the sole transaction advisor to the Coal Ministry for the commercial coal mine auctions, is assisting in conducting the auction process.