NEW DELHI: Coal India Limited (CIL) on Friday announced the setting up of eight new coking coal washeries at an estimated capital outlay of Rs 3,300 crore. The move is aimed at improving the quality of its coking coal and is expected to be operational by FY2030. These washeries will have a combined washing capacity of 21.5 million tonnes per year (MT/Y).
The upcoming washeries will add to the ten already operated by the Maharatna coal miner, which have a cumulative capacity of 18.35 MT/Y. CIL will also invest Rs 300 crore in the renovation and modernisation of existing washeries to ensure their optimal and efficient utilisation.
Of the eight new facilities, five will be set up under Central Coalfields Limited with a capacity of 14.5 MT/Y, while three will come up under Bharat Coking Coal Limited with a capacity of 7 MT/Y.
“This calibrated expansion of washing capacity and modernisation is to improve domestic coking coal quality and also is an effort to moderate import dependence in the coming years,” the company said in a press note.
Coal India further said that after monetising one coking coal washery in Bharat Coking Coal Limited a year ago, it plans to monetise three older, non-operative washeries in line with the National Monetisation Policy. The company is also renovating and modernising two ageing washeries to improve throughput, recovery efficiency, and process reliability.
In a public-private collaboration model, CIL is leveraging washing capacity and technical expertise from Tata Steel Limited to enhance the supply of quality coking coal to the domestic steel sector.
Coking coal is a key raw material in steelmaking. While India has abundant coal reserves, domestic coking coal is limited and has high ash content ranging from 25% to 45%, significantly higher than global standards, making imports necessary.
These initiatives are expected to help substitute imported coking coal, reduce foreign exchange outgo, and improve industrial competitiveness.