HYDERABAD: The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has been accorded in-principle environmental clearance for the Ramagundam Coal Mine project.
According to a press statement issued by the company on Sunday, the Singareni management received an official communication from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in this regard and the final approval documents are expected within the next 10 days.
“The project requires 4,326.08 hectares of land. It will employ 5,403 Singareni workers and around 600 contract workers. The total capital investment for the project is `2,194.05 crore,” the statement added.
The Singareni management expressed its delight over receiving preliminary environmental clearance for this unique project, which has been designed with a record production capacity of 210 lakh tonnes per year, the highest in Singareni’s history.
The coal production, which reduced due to the closure of old mine, would be compensated by the latest project, officials said.
The Ramagundam project was designed to extract 314.98 million tonnes of coal reserves available within two opencast mines and three underground mines that already had approvals.
The coal produced would be supplied mainly to nearby NTPC Ramagundam and other coal-based industries under fuel supply agreements, the release said. The company also said that the efforts made under the guidance of SCCL Chairman and Managing Director Jyothi Buddha Prakash have finally borne fruit.
Maximise coal extraction
The project is aimed at converting the closed GDK-10 incline mine and the soon-to-be-closed Vakilpalli underground mine into opencast mines to fully extract the remaining coal. It would maximise extraction of coal left in the boundary areas of Ramagundam Opencast-1 Extension Project Phase-2, Ramagundam Opencast-2 Expansion Project and Adriyala Shaft Underground Expansion Project. All these were integrated into a single comprehensive project named the Ramagundam Coal Mine.
The project was designed to utilise existing approvals, require minimal investment and ensure environmentally responsible coal extraction. Even while compensating for declining output from old mines, this project would also extend the operational life of the Ramagundam region by another 25 years.
Even after underground mining was completed, some coal remained un-extracted. To utilise this, the Singareni previously proposed and successfully operated opencast mines in areas of closed underground mines, such as the Gautam Khani Opencast Mine in Kothagudem and the Manuguru Opencast Mine and VK Coal Mine in Kothagudem.
Similarly, in Ramagundam Area-1, about 56.79 million tonnes of coal remaining in the closed GDK-10 incline mine, and in Area-2, about 28.99 million tonnes remaining in the soon-to-close Vakilpalli mine, would be extracted by converting them into opencast mines.
Around 25.98 million tonnes of coal left as safety barriers between these mines and Ramagundam OC-1 Extension Phase-2, along with 3.90 million tonnes of adjacent reserves and coal remaining near the boundaries of Ramagundam OC-2 Expansion and Adriyala Shaft projects would also be extracted under this project.
Out of the total reserves, 182.28 million tonnes would be produced from opencast areas and 132.70 million tonnes from underground mining areas. The average coal grade here was identified as G-10. This integrated extraction plan led to the formation of a new project -- Ramagundam Coal Mine, requiring additional approvals beyond existing ones.
Jobs & business opportunities
With several old mines closing in the three areas of the Ramagundam region, this project will provide employment opportunities to displaced workers and compensate for the shortfall in coal production. Approximately 5,500 workers will get employment under this project. It also presents a significant business opportunity for Singareni.
The company has been supplying coal to NTPC Ramagundam for decades, which remains its largest consumer. Due to the closure of old mines, there was a risk of insufficient coal supply to NTPC.
However, with the approval of the Ramagundam Coal Mine project, this supply chain will continue without disruption. Now, this project can be described as a major boon for Singareni, the company said in its press statement.
Project highlights
Initially, the closed GDK-10 incline underground mine will be converted into an opencast mine and mining will proceed using the shovel-dumper method by extending the OC-1 operations. The overburden generated will be filled into the voids created in the RG OC-1 Extension Phase-2 area. This phase is expected to take about eight years
The Vakilpalli mine will also be converted into an opencast mine and the overburden generated there will be used to fill the voids created in the GDK-10 quarry. The excavated areas will be backfilled using their own overburden material, which is considered as an environmentally friendly initiative
Other opencast mining operations under the project will be in operation simultaneously
Mining will be carried out using Longwall, Continuous Miner, Bord and Pillar and Road Header methods, along with shovel- dumper operations
