Bhubaneswar: The National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has been granted the mining lease of Utkal-E coal block.
The lease was granted by the Steel & Mines Department through a notification issued on April 12.
The Utkal-E coal block is spread over an area of 523.73 hectares in Nandichhod, Gopinathpur forest, Kundajhari forest, Kosala and Korada under Chendipada Tehsil in Angul district.
The initial capacity of the Utkal-E coal block is 2 million tonnes a year with a total mineable reserve of 70 million tonne (MT).
Notably, Nalco had executed the mining lease for the Utkal-D coal block in March 2021. With the grant of Utkal D and E coal blocks, the total mineable coal reserve of the company will be 175 MT, which will be pivotal in meeting the coal requirement of its captive power plant at Angul.
“With the grant of the mining lease of Utkal E coal block, the planned expansion activities of the company will get a boost,” said Nalco CMD Sridhar Patra.
The team is very optimistic about starting the mining operation from the Utkal-D coal block this financial year, he added.
Initially, the company will be able to produce 4 million tonnes of coal a year from the operation of Utkal-D & E coal blocks. The lease for Utkal-D & E Coal block has been granted to Nalco for a period of 30 years.
