NMDC, WBMDTC signs pact for coal mining

Kolkata: State-owned Navaratna public sector unit NMDC, signed a MoU with West Bengal Mineral Development and Trading Corporation (WBMDTC) to explore, develop and mine coal at Deocha-Pachami block in Birbhum district, which has a reserve of two billion tonne.

'It will be a 50:50 joint venture with WBMDTC. The coal block is spread over 9.7 sq km of which mining will be initially done in 3.2 sq km having a reserve of 450 million tonne at a depth of 100 metre,' NMDC Chairman and MD Rana Som told reporters here.

This is one of the five biggest coal blocks in the country, Rana said.

The MoU was signed by NMDC Director (Technical) P S Upadhyay and WBMDCTC CMD Arun Kumar Sen in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

The MoU paves the way for geological exploration of coal deposits to establish technical and commercial viability of the project.

Som said that NMDC, which is on fast track expansion and diversification mode, would make initial investment of about Rs 1,000 crore for the project.

Majority of the investment would be done for acquiring land and procuring heavy duty machinery for huge overburden removal, he said.

The state government would acquire and provide the land for coal mining in the block, he further said adding that NMDC, which had forayed into coal mining, has also started exploration process for two coal blocks in Madhya Pradesh.

On the signing of MoU, the Chief minister said it was an important development as coal and iron ore are two vital ingredients required by the steel and other industries.