Adani Group bags two out of three commercial coal mines in auction

Adani Group has emerged as the highest bidder for two coal blocks in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh auctioned for commercial use. Auctions for three coal blocks concluded on Monday, while five more will undergo auction on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gurugram-based South West Pinnacle Exploration was the preferred bidder for the third coal mine in Jharkhand.

Adani Power Maharashtra reportedly quoted a premium of 9.5 per cent over floor price for Maharashtra’s Gondkhari coal mine, said a person in the know to The Economic Times. Also in the fray was Sunflag Iron and Steel. The mine has 98.71 million tonnes of geological reserves.

Same group company CG Naturals Resources Ltd was the preferred bidder for Jhigador mine in Chhattisgarh. It pipped Aurobindo Reality and Infrastructure to emerge as the highest bidder. The Jhigador mine has 250 million tonnes of geological reserves.

As for the Jharkhand mine, Dhansar Engineering Co and Hilltop Hirise Pvt Ltd were also in the fray. The Jogeshwar and Khas Jogeshwar partially explored mine has 84.03 million tonnes of geological reserves.

The second tranche of auctions for commercial coal mining started on March 25.

Considering production at peak capacity of 51 million tonnes per annum, states are expected to earn Rs 7,000 crore of revenues.

Nineteen mines have been put on auction by the coal ministry in the second round of auction. Of that, 10 are fully explored while nine are partially explored. Four are coking mines and 15 are non-coking mines. The Centre had opened up the coal mining sector to private players in 2020.

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