Geology and Reserves of Indian coal
Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel resource in the country. India, currently, stands eighth in terms of total World Coal Resources, whereas it is fourth from the point of view of identified reserves.
The coal occurrences in India are mainly distributed along the present day river valleys i.e. DamodarValley, Sone-MahanadiValley, Pench-KanhanValley, Wardha-Godavari Valley etc. There are 69 major coalfields located in the peninsular India besides, 17 located in the north-eastern region. The bulk of the coal reserves are confined to the south-eastern quadrant of the country in West Bengal, Jharkand, Orissa, Chattisgarh & Madhya Pradesh.
The coal reserves of India have been estimated by the Geological Survey of India at 285.8 billion tonnes–up to the depth of 1200m, as on 31.03.2011.
Out of 285.8 billion tonnes (Bt) of coal reserves—“Prime” coking coal are 5.3 Bt, Medium & Semi-coking coals are 28 Bt and Non-coking coals 250.8 Bt. Most of these resources occur in Gondwanas and the balance in the Tertiary formations.
Currently, lignite reserves in the country have been estimated at around 39.7 billion tonnes, most of which, occur in Tamilnadu. Other states where lignite deposits have been located are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Basically, Indian coals have high mineral matter (ash) content unlike Pennsylvanian and Carboniferous coals of America and Europe respectively.
Coal Reserves in India as on 31.03.2011 (in MT)
| Type of Coal | Proved | Indicated | Inferred | Total |
| Prime Coking | 4614 | 699 | 0 | 5313 |
| Medium Coking | 12573 | 12001 | 1880 | 26454 |
| Semi Coking | 482 | 1003 | 222 | 1707 |
| Non Coking | 95739 | 123668 | 31488 | 250895 |
| Tertiary Coal | 594 | 99 | 799 | 1493 |
| Total | 114002 | 137471 | 34390 | 285862 |
| Lignite |
173.22.9423.14
Coal Resources:
India ranks third amongst the coal producing countries of the world in terms of annual coal production. However, in respect of coal resources, it is endowed with less than one percent of world coal resources. Of the 285.8 billion tonnes of Indian coal resources up to a depth of 1200 metres, about 105.7 billion tonnes fall under proved or confirmed category. This constitutes about five percent of the world proved coal resources.
production had come up to a level of nearly 72 million tonnes per year only. The entire coal industry in India was nationalised during 1972-73 and then on massive investments were made by the Government of India in this basic infrastructure sector. India now ranks as the third largest coal producer of the World next only to China and USA.
Mining depths in Indian coalfields are quite shallow, barring a few mines in Jharia and Raniganj coalfields. Major share of coal resources lies at a depth of less than 300 metres. About 87 percent of coal resources lie within the depth range of 600 metres. However, in most of the coalfields, exploration work beyond 600 metres depth is yet to be taken up. It is expected that the resource figures will improve considerably, with increased depth of exploration.
Deposit characteristics vary widely from coalfield to coalfield. In some areas like Jharia and Raniganj coalfields, high concentration of super imposed seams (as much as 40 in number) pose great challenge to mining operations. Presence of a large number of thick seams, though a blessing for open cast mining, is again a major underground mining problem. Reserves in steeply inclined seams are, however, only marginal.
Geological inconsistencies like faults, folds, washouts etc, common in most of the coalfields, tend to reduce the mining potential of deposits. Intrusions such as dykes and sills often lead to operational problems and quality deterioration.
Nearly all Indian Coal seams are prone to spontaneous heating. The incubation period varies widely from 2 to 12 months. However, compared to gas emission in other parts of the world, the coal seams in India are less gassy.
Due to the very nature of deposition, Indian coals, in general, are of inferior quality owing to high ash percentage, when compared with coal available in the international trade arena. Despite this, Indian coals in general merit better environment friendly use because of:
> Low sulphur content
> Low chlorine content and
> Low toxic trace elements
Additional advantages for industrial use
> High ash fusion temperature
> Low iron content and
> Refractory nature of ash
The exploration database, created so far, is adequate for preparation of a long-term perspective plan for mining of coal in the country.
Coal deposits in India are confined to eastern, southern and central parts of the country, consisting of 27 major coalfields. The shares of overall coal resources of different States are:
Andhra Pradesh 9.59%
Bihar 14.58%
Chhattisgarh 20.81%
Jharkhand 19.44%
Madhya Pradesh 14.30%
Maharashtra 7.93%
Orissa 19.58%
Uttar Pradesh 2.64
West Bengal 4.33%
Balance share of coal reserves is distributed over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
Quality wise resource is 8.27 % Coking Coal and 91.73% Non Coking Coal.
Out of Total Non Coking Coal the
- superior grades A, B and C with Ash content 24% or less
- inferior grades with ash content between 24-45%
Jharia Coalfield is the main source of prime coking coal. Superior grade non coking coals are generally available in Raniganj Coalfield of West Bengal, Central India Coalfield of Madhya Pradesh and Talcher Coalfields of Orissa.
The ash of Indian coal is of inherent nature and has high presence of near gravity material
(NGM). This makes washing of Indian coal rather difficult. Some of the positive features of Indian Coal are low sulphur, low toxic elements and high ash fusion temperature.
Coal Industry in India
Coal India is the largest public sector company, about 80.86% of the total coal production in the country comes from the collieries of Coal India Ltd (CIL). It has eight subsidiaries: Bharat Coking Coal Ltd., Central Coalfields Ltd., Eastern Coalfields Ltd., Western Coalfields Ltd., South Eastern Coalfields Ltd., Northern Coalfields Ltd., Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Ltd.
The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) is a coal-mining company jointly owned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Government of India. The Singareni coal reserves stretch across 350 Kms of the Pranahita, Godavari Valley of Andhra Pradesh with a proven geological reserves aggregating to 8791 million tonnes. SCCL is currently operating 13 opencast and 37 underground mines in Andhra Pradesh.
The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 was amended w.e.f. 9th June 1993 to allow coal mining by both private and public sector for captive consumption for production of iron and steel, generation of power, washing of coal obtained from a mine and other end use, which would be notified by the Government from time to time. Under the last provision, cement production was further allowed as an end use w.e.f 5th March 1996 for captive mining of coal. The restriction of captive mining does not apply to state-owned coal/mineral development undertakings like CIL, SCCL, Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) etc. and Mineral Development Corporation of the State Governments.
Coal Production
Coal production achieved in the country during the year 2010-11 has been 533.07 million tonnes as compared to the production of 523.16 million tonnes achieved during the
previous year i.e. 2009-10 showing a compounded annual growth rate of 1.91%.
About 80.86% of the total coal production in the country comes from the collieries of Coal India Ltd (CIL). CIL is also the biggest supplier of coal in the country.
| Anticipated Coal Production—2012-13 (In million tonnes) | |
| Name of the Co. | Coal Production |
| CIL | 570 |
SCCL58
Others125Total753
Coal production over the years |
||
Raw Coal |
2009-10 |
2010-11 |
1. Growth of Production (India) |
4.42% |
0.20% |
Growth of Production (CIL) |
2.97% |
0.10% |
2. Growth of Off-take (India) |
4.89% |
1.84% |
Growth of Off-take (CIL) |
3.49% |
2.0% |
3. Closing Stock/ (average monthly take off) |
0.80% |
|
4. Colliery Consumption/ Off-take |
0.17% |
0.17% |
5. Stripping Ratio (OBR/RC) |
2.13 |
2.13 |
6. Import growth (overall-Coal) |
17% |
25.58% |
–Coking Coal |
-4.31% |
13.41% |
–Non-Coking Coal |
36.58% |
31.77% |
7. Avg.pit head value/ Ton Coal (Non Captive Public) |
€14.19 |
|
Coal Production based on Technology
In India opencast and underground mining is prevalent. Opencast mine production grew by 5.54 % to 457 mt in the year 2009-10
In the case of Underground (UG) mines, the production in 2009-10 is 58.60 mt
| Production of Coal and its share by type of Mining. | ||||
| Type of mining | OC | UG | Total Production | |
| 2008-09 | Production | 433.7 | 58.97 | 492.75 |
| Share (%) | 88.03% | 11.89% | 100% | |
| 2009-10 | Production | 457 | 58.60 | 515.6 |
| Share (%) | 88.63% | 11.37% | 100% | |
| Growth (%) | 5.54% | -0.5% | 4.67% | |
Demand, Production & Supply
The demand of coal assessed by the Planning Commission during the year 2010-11 was 572MT
The target of coal production was 97.2% achieved by Coal India Ltd (CIL) in 2010-11 and 104% achieved by Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd (SCCL).
Demand of Power, Steel and Cement in a developing country is closely related to its economic growth. It is difficult to imagine a country slated for growth without using power, steel and cement. Global as well as Indian steel and cement production are dependent on coal. That is why distribution of coal of adequate quantity and quality to power sector followed by steel and cement manufacturing sector is considered a priority in Indian Coal Industry.
| Sectoral Off-Take of raw Coal (Million Tonnes) | |||||
| Cos. | Achieved (2010-11) | ||||
| Power | Steel | Cement | Others | Total | |
| CIL | 290.7 | 10.7 | 7.03 | 102.9 | 411.3 |
| % | (70.6) | (2.6) | (1.7) | (25.03) | (100) |
| SCCL | 33.83 | 0.05 | 7.3 | 8.3 | 49.4 |
| % | (68.4) | (0.1) | (14.7) | (16.8) | (100) |
| Others | 25.7 | 8.7 | 0.7 | 17.3 | 52.3 |
| % | (49.1) | (16.6) | (1.91) | (33.07) | (100) |
| Total | 350.2 | 19.45 | 14.3 | 128.5 | 512.4 |
| (68.3) | (3.7) | (2.79) | (25) | (100) | |
Project under Formulation
| Name of Project | Company | Latest Capital (in million Rs.) | Latest Capital( In Euro million) |
| PURNADIH OC | CCL | 2100 | 35 |
| TAPIN OC | CCL | 2640 | 44 |
| DINESH OC | WCL | 4960 | 82.66 |
| PENGANGA OC | WCL | 3770 | 62.83 |
| BATURA OC | SECL | 2030 | 33.83 |
| PELMA OC | SECL | 4470 | 74.5 |
| CHURCHA RO UG | SECL | 4620 | 77 |
| TALABIRA OC | MCL | 4470 | 74.5 |
The expansion programme undertaken by SCCL in brownfield underground projects are in the final stage and plans are afoot to implement a few Greenfield projects as well.
Private Coal mining in India
The government’s strategy to allow coal mining by standalone companies that have tie-ups with steel, cement and power companies for coal supplies will become operational within the coming month. Coal ministry & law ministry officials confirmed that those mining companies who have supply contracts with authorized users namely steel, cement and power companies can have mining rights to those coal blocks that is reserved for confined users, even without emending the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Act, 1973. The move is likely to give further push to coal production and will play a pivotal role in meeting the country’s future demand to a large extent.
Investment opportunities in Coal Industries
Public sector undertakings have been in the total command of the coal production since 1973-74 to present day, but with the liberalisation of economy since June 1991 the scenario has changed. Huge investments are required to meet the increasing demand of coal for power and other industries and at the same time Government is looking for private player to invest.
Under the present policy of free market economy, Government is removing controls on industry and trade, reducing the tariff on import and allowing private investment in companies even up to majority share holding by private / foreign sources. The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 has been amended to allow private participation in coal mining as captive mines for companies engaged in opening new units for power generation, coal preparation (washing) and production of Iron & Steel and Cement. Government has already appointed a Screening Committee under the Ministry of Coal to allocate identified Coal Blocks for captive mining to above categories. Already 100 Blocks have been identified and several companies given permission to operate such blocks.
- Investment opportunity in Transfer of New Technology
- Investment opportunity in Manufacture of Equipment / Spares
- Investment opportunity in Construction of Road (Both Approach and Arterial) in Coalfields
- Investment opportunity in Building Rail-lines
- Investment Opportunity in Major Repair Workshops / Spares depots
- Investment Opportunities in Environmental Protection
- Investment Opportunities in Joint Venture for Opening New Mines
- Investment Opportunities for Leasing of Equipment
- Investment Opportunities in Ancillary and Infrastructure Developments
- Investment Opportunities in Auxiliary Industries
- Investment Opportunities in Development of Ports and for Handling Imported Coal
Areas of interest for the Indian Coal Mining Companies are follows:
Powered support Longwall / Shortwall
Continuous miners in Room and Pillar system
Roof bolting systems – application of light bolting machines in Bord and Pillar development galleries
Mechanised depillaring of coal seams developed on Bord and Pillar system
Prediction of Strata behavior in extraction of developed pillars by caving method.
Design of roof support to permit mechanised depillaring.
Use of Road Haul Dumper, Continuous miner
Application of mobile powered supports (Crawler mounted) in depillaring by caving method
Road Headers – Coal Conveyor systems
Simple and cost effective men and material transport system in inclined roadways
Ventilation system in mines
Coal Handling arrangements – high speed loading equipment
Advanced geological exploration techniques to prove faults with small throw (less than 5 metres); in depth range of 20 to 300 m.
Communication system in underground mines
Application of Information Technology in mining activities
Simple method of beneficiation of coal – upgradation of coal needed for Power Plants
Improved hydraulic stowing techniques using river sand, crushed overburden, fly ash and other locally available materials
FDI in Mining sector
| Year (April to March) | FDI in Rs. Crore | FDI in Euro million |
| 2008-09 | 161.09 | 24.78 |
| 2009-10 | 829.92 | 127.68 |
| 2010-11 | 357.42 | 54.98 |
| 2011-12 | 436.61 | 67.17 |
| Grand total | 1,785.04 | 274.62 |
New coal projects in India
Lanco Infratech Ltd. setting up 1320 MW coal based power unit
PNC Infratech Ltd 660 MW coal based Power unit
Bharat Coking Coal Ltd setting up a 2.5 million tpa coal washery at Dugda.
MaharastraState power generation Co. Ltd.
set up a 1,320 MW coal based power unit on PPP basis.
Era Infra Engineering Ltd plans to set up a 2640 MW coal based power unit at Rajauli.
CIL offers 447 million tonnes of coal to power utilities.
Regulatory Framework of Coal Industry in India
Coal Industry in India is regulated largely by the provisions of:
- The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973
- To nationalise the coal sector
- Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957
- To regulate exploration and exploitation of minerals
- The Coal Bearing Area (Acquisition & Development) Act
- To facilitate acquisition of coal bearing land
- Environmental Protection Act, 1986
-
-
- To conduct mining operations in an environmental friendly manner
-
-
- Liberalisation of Policy Regime:
- The main thrust of the policy is to liberalise the statutory and regulatory regime in order to promote investment in the coal sector.The recent policy initiatives have been in the following direction:
- Captive mining by Power, Steel and Cement industry allowed.
- Foreign Direct Investment allowed upto 100% in Power and coal mining
- Creating a competitive market for sale of coal
- Progressive reduction of custom duty on Coal and HEMM imports
- Introduction of Contract Mining
Bibliography
- Coal Directory of India
- Government of India-Ministry of Coal Annual Report
- Report on Overview of Coal Mining sector in India—VDMA
- Information from SCCL & CIL website