New Delhi: Coal India Limited (CIL) is in the process of adding seven to eight coking coal washeries in a phased manner, said its Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) PM Prasad. Interacting with investors during a conference call, Prasad said that a coking coal washery at Lakhanpur Area in the Ib Valley Coalfields of Odisha is under trial run and is expected to be commissioned soon. The project will add 10 Million Tonnes of coking coal to the country’s total produce immediately, said the CMD. The project is being executed by Coal India’s subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL).
The remaining coking coal washery projects are being taken up by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) and Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), said the CMD. “Two to three washeries have come up and they will be increasing their capacity significantly year-on-year. And in CCL, we have just awarded the project. It will take two years to three years. So by FY2026-27, it will be added. The construction period will be two-to-three years for both BCCL and CCL. In a phased manner, about seven to eight coking coal washeries are being added. So the moment it is done, it will be producing,” Prasad told investors.
He added that the production of coking coal in India has already increased by 20 percent year-on-year. The Coal India chief added that it is expected to go up further by 20-30 percent as coking coal washeries get added. He also said that for non-coking coal, which is primarily used by the power sector, one washery project is being executed at Ashoka Piparwar in Jharkhand by CCL.
Washeries help improve the coal quality by bringing down ash content through beneficiation. Coal India is augmenting its coking coal washing capacity by introducing new coking coal washeries, renovating the existing ones, and dismantling some of the older ones. The company has plans to produce about 13 MTPA washed coal by FY30.
