Coal India to Invest ₹3,300 Crore in New Coking Coal Washeries
Coal India's Strategic Investment in Coking Coal Washeries
New Delhi, March 27: On Friday, Coal India revealed plans to invest approximately ₹3,300 crore to establish eight new coking coal washeries. This initiative aims to enhance coal quality and decrease the nation's reliance on imported high-grade coking coal, which is essential for steel production.
The upcoming washeries are projected to contribute a total capacity of 21.5 million tonnes per year (MTY) and are expected to be operational by the 2029-30 period. Currently, Coal India operates ten washeries with a combined capacity of 18.35 MTY, meaning this expansion will significantly increase their capacity over the next four years.
Additionally, the public sector mining leader intends to allocate around ₹300 crore for the refurbishment and modernization of its existing coking coal washeries to enhance efficiency and utilization.
Among the eight new facilities, five will be established under Central Coalfields Limited, contributing a total capacity of 14.5 MTY, while three will be developed under Bharat Coking Coal Limited, adding 7 MTY capacity.
Coal India is also in the process of monetizing older assets as part of the National Monetisation Pipeline. Following the monetization of one coking coal washery at Bharat Coking Coal, the company plans to monetize three additional non-operational units.
Furthermore, Coal India is renovating and modernizing two aging washeries to enhance throughput, recovery efficiency, and process reliability.
In collaboration with Tata Steel, a major player in the private sector, Coal India aims to utilize washing capacity and technical expertise to improve the supply of quality coking coal to the domestic steel industry.
Coking coal is a crucial raw material for steel manufacturing. However, domestic reserves typically have a high ash content, ranging from 25% to 45%, which compels the country to rely on costly imports, impacting foreign exchange reserves.
Coal India stated that these combined efforts are anticipated to help reduce the need for imported coking coal, lower foreign exchange expenditure, and boost industrial competitiveness.