Steel Giants Dominate 11th Round of India’s Commercial Coal Auction

As much as this comes as good news for the coal sector in India, there were 70 bids received from some of India’s biggest names along with their likes, all submitted for the auction of 20 coal blocks held in the country’s 11th round of commercial mining. More than 15 new participants, among whom was even a subsidiary of Coal India, remained active throughout this round of auction.

Out of the 20 coal blocks available for this auction, the majority of them are non-coking coal except for one block. In this auction also, the response is very massive. 46 companies are there that are participating to acquire those blocks. The most prominent bidders include JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, Western Coalfields (a subsidiary of Coal India), Adani Natural Resources, and Damodar Valley Corporation.

Some other notable companies that participated in the tendering process are Bharat Aluminium Company, Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation, Orissa Metaliks, Lloyds Metal, and Odisha Coal and Power. The total number of tenders submitted by the above companies will give an idea of the competitive nature of the available coal.

I am highly satisfied with the unprecedented level of interest in these auctions, which signals growing demand for coal amid continued energy needs,” said the coal ministry. This assessment will be carried out by a multi-disciplinary technical committee that will review bids based on the qualifications of the bidders.

Only those technical bidders would be shortlisted for the subsequent stage, that is, an electronic auction to be conducted on the MSTC portal. This is likely to be more transparent and efficient in terms of the allocation of coal blocks for commercial mining. It is one of the core elements of the energy strategy for India.

The success of this auction further highlights the increasing role of private sector players in the country’s mining landscape, with more companies wanting to tap into the vast coal reserves available in the country.