BIZ-NCL-PRODUCTION

NCL to invest Rs 1,150cr, join 100 MT production club in FY19
    Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh), Dec 14 (PTI) Coal India
subsidiary Northern Coalfields Ltd would invest Rs 1,150 crore
this year which is expected to take it to the 100 million
tonne (MT) production club in 2018-19, a top official said
Friday.
    As of now, only two Coal India subsidiaries -- South
Eastern Coalfields and Mahanadi Coalfields -- are producing in
excess of 100 MT per annum.
    "We will be producing 100.5 MT this year, as against
93 MT achieved during 2017-18. Our capex target for the year
is Rs 1,150 crore for expansion and equipment acquisition
which will help us to increase our production in the future,"
NCL chairman cum managing director P K Sinha said on the
sidelines of the International Conference on Opencast Mining
Technology and Sustainability (ICOMS-2018) here.
    NCL is also working on a plan to produce 115 MT by
2022-23 by when Coal India's total production is expected to
touch 1 billion tonne. NCL is expanding its Jayant and
Dudhichua mines while opening greenfield Semaria mine in the
next 2-3 years that would add 2 MT per annum.
    Sinha said that NCL, after meeting the demand for the
pithead thermal plants totalling around 13,000 MW belonging to
companies like NTPC, Lanco, and UP Rajya Vidyut Nigam Ltd also
proposes to send about 20-25 MT dry fuel to the starved
thermal power plants in north India.
    The country's largest super thermal power plant at
Vindhyachal of NTPC of approx 5,000 MW is fed by NCL. It
supplied 26 days of coal stock against the normative
requirement of 15 days.
    Sinha said although coal evacuation remains an issue
for the upcountry supplies, but it would get streamlined in
the next 2-3 years once the doubling of railway lines between
Katni and Singraulli (260kms), and Ramna and Singraulli
(160kms) projects were completed.
    The railways has approved these projects at an
estimated cost of Rs 4,700 crore, NCL officials said.
    Presently, coal mining activities of NCL are confined
in the Moher sub-basin, where all operations are being carried
out through 10 highly mechanised opencast mines.
    At the inauguration of the first International
Conference on Opencast Mining Technology and Sustainability
(ICOMS-2018), BEML chairman and managing director H K Hota
appreciated NCL's efforts to promote 'Make in India'
initiative by rolling out the country's first 205 tonne
electric dumper at Amlohri mine.
    Meanwhile, NCL has been strengthening R&D capabilities
and recently entered into a pact with IIT Varanasi in this
regard. PTI BSM
JM JM