India sets target of 140 million tonne coking coal production by FY30
1 min read 19 May 2023, 05:23 PM ISTThe ministry of coal has recently finalized an action plan for the fiscal year 2023-24, aiming to achieve a coal production target of 1,012 million tonne
PremiumNew Delhi: India is focusing on significantly enhancing its coking coal production to 140 million tonne by the fiscal year 2030, to meet the growing demand in the steel industry, according to the government’s “Mission Coking Coal."
Over the past nine years, India’s overall coal production has seen a remarkable 47% increase, reaching 893.08 million tonne, with supply touching 877.74 million tonne, recording a growth rate of 45.37%. This surge in coal production in FY 2023 represents the highest ever in the country’s history.
To further bolster the coal sector, the ministry of coal has recently finalized an action plan for the fiscal year 2023-24, aiming to achieve a coal production target of 1,012 million tonne. This target will be accomplished by enhancing overall production, improving efficiency, ensuring sustainability, and adopting new technologies.
During the fiscal year 2022-23, the ministry signed agreements for 23 coal mines, totaling a peak rated capacity of 33.224 million tonne per annum. Building on the positive response received from the 6th round of commercial auctions, it is anticipated that 25 coal mines will be allocated for commercial mining in the upcoming fiscal year 2023-24.
The launch of “Mission Coking Coal" in August 2021 by the Indian government aims to augment the production and utilization of domestic coking coal in the country by 2030.
The mission has formulated recommendations primarily focused on new exploration, production enhancement, capacity augmentation for coal washing, and the auction of new coking coal mines.
The key objectives of the mission include increasing coking coal production from 52 million tonne in FY 2022 to 140 million tonne by FY 2030 and enhancing coking coal washing capacity from 23 million tonne in FY 2022 to 61 million tonne by FY 2023.
Coking coal plays a vital role in the manufacturing of steel through the blast furnace route. However, domestic coking coal is high in ash content (ranging between 18% and 49%), making it unsuitable for direct use in blast furnaces. To address this, coking coal is washed to reduce the ash percentage. Indian Prime and Medium Coking Coal with ash content below 18% is then blended with imported coking coal with ash content below 9% before utilization in blast furnaces.
