Ministry of Coal puts 122 mines on auction

The Ministry of Coal on Wednesday said it has put on auction 122 coal and lignite mines under the commercial auction process.

Addressing the fifth tranche of auction launch, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said 42 coal mines have already been auctioned successfully so far.

In a statement, the ministry said it “has placed on offer 122 coal/lignite mines today under commercial auction of coal mines, including 18 new coal mines.” Sharing the details of mines under different tranches for auction, it said there are 109 coal mines under 15th Tranche of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and 5th Tranche of Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957.

Of the 109 mines on offer, 59 are fully explored mines and 50 are partially explored mines.

Four coal mines are under second attempt of 14th Tranche of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and Second Attempt of 4th Tranche of Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957.

Total 9 coal mines are under 2nd attempt of 13th Tranche of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and Second Attempt of 3rd Tranche of Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957.

Key features of auction process include introduction of National Coal Index, ease in participation with no restriction for prior coal mining experience, full flexibility in coal utilisation, optimized payment structures, efficiency promotion through incentives for early production and use of clean coal technology.

Further, incentives are being contemplated by Ministry of Coal.

“The commencement of sale of tender document shall start from Wednesday. Details of the mines, auction terms, timelines etc. can be accessed on MSTC auction platform. The auction shall be held online through a transparent two stage process, on the basis of Percentage Revenue Share,” the coal ministry said.