Coal India’s arm Western Coalfields Bids for Coal Blocks in 11th Auction
Bandhak West block remained in high demand, receiving a total of 15 bids—the highest among all 19 coal blocks that attracted interest out of the 27 blocks put up for auction. Dahegaon Makardhokra IV received three bids.
Coal India’s arm Western Coalfields Bids for Coal Blocks in 11th Auction
Western Coalfields Ltd has entered into the tendering process for two coal blocks in the 11th tranche of the commercial coal blocks auction in order to address the challenges posed by limited reserves and adverse geo-mining conditions, according to a senior company official. This is the inaugural commercial coal block auction in which any subsidiary of Coal India has participated.
"We have bid for two non-coking coal blocks, Bandhak West and Dahegaon Makardhokra IV. Both blocks are close to our existing mining projects. If we secure them, we will able to carry out mining activities with minimal capex as we already have the necessary infrastructure in place," Western Coalfields chairman and managing director Jai Prakash Dwivedi said. Both coal blocks are in Maharashtra.
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Bandhak West block remained in high demand, receiving a total of 15 bids—the highest among all 19 coal blocks that attracted interest out of the 27 blocks put up for auction. Dahegaon Makardhokra IV received three bids.
Dwivedi said WCL is keen to participate in future rounds of coal block auctions but preferably for blocks close to its existing operations. "Our total production for FY'25 will remain around 69 million tonnes, similar to last year. Despite our best efforts, we expect production to remain flat next fiscal as well due to unique mining challenges, which are leading to higher costs," the official said.
Dwivedi highlighted major hurdles, including high stripping ratios (over-burden removal costs), strata control issues, and limited reserves. He said that upcoming projects would primarily offset depleting reserves rather than contribute to growth.
WCL had anticipated a gradual decline in production, projecting output to drop to 50 million tonnes by 2047, signaling the need for new reserves and alternative strategies.
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