Government has auctioned 42 coal reserves for commercial miningNew Delhi: A total of 42 coal blocks have been auctioned till date for commercialmining, government has said, adding that out of these,10 reserves were auctioned last week under the third tranche.
Jindal Steel and Power and Hindalco Industries were among the successful bidders during the round.On the first day of the auctionheld last week,five blocks were sold, whereDalmia Cement Bharat Limitedhad emerged as the highest bidder for two coal blocks in Jharkhand.Mahanadi Mines and Minerals had emerged as the highest bidder for a coal block in Odisha whileYazdani Steel And Power was the highest bidder for another coal mine in the eastern state, the coal ministry had said in a statement on Tuesday."Under the commercial coal mining auction process, a total of 42 coal mines, includingmines auctioned in tranche-3, have been successfully auctioned till date with a total cumulative peak rate capacityof 86.404 million tonnes per annum (MTPA)," a statement from coal ministrysaid.The 10 blocks sold last weekare projected to generate an annual revenue of Rs 2,858.20 crore, the ministry said.On the second and the third days of the auction, Jindal Steel and Power had bagged Utkal-C coal mine in Odisha while Hindalco Industries made the highest bid for Meenakshi mine in the state.BS Ispat Limitedemerged as the highest bidder for Majra mine in Maharashtra, and Assam Mineral Development Corporation bagged Garampani coal block in Assam.