Angul: Mahanadi Coalfield Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd (CIL), is set to start operations in two new coal mines in the Talcher coalfield area of Odisha’s Angul district.
These mines, Subhadra and Balabhadra, have coal reserves of 25 million tonnes (MT) and 10 MT, respectively. The Subhadra mine is expected to become operational by the end of the financial year 2025-26, while the Balabhadra mine is scheduled to start operations by the end of the financial year 2029-30, reports, quoted MCL’s Chairman and Managing Director, Uday A Kaole, as saying.
MCL currently operates 18 coal mines across Angul, Sundargarh, and Jharsuguda districts, including three underground and 15 open-cast mines. The operational mines in Angul include Jagannath, Bhubaneswari, Bharatpur, Hingula, Lingaraj, Kaniha and Talcher (UG). Subhadra and Balabhadra will be added to this list.
To ensure transparency, MCL has installed CCTV coverage in 98% of its operational areas, with the remaining 2% to be covered soon. The company also employs AI for real-time tracking of GPS-enabled coal transport vehicles. MCL’s coal reserve of 35 MT secures supply for power generation.
In FY 2024-25, MCL produced 225 MT of coal, a 9% increase from the previous year, and dispatched 210 MT, up 6%. About 98% of production comes from eco-friendly surface mines, the highest in India. MCL aims for net-zero carbon emissions by FY 2029, with ₹17,900 crore invested in renewable energy projects like solar, wind, and pumped storage. The company targets 239 MT of coal production in FY 2026, aiming for 300 MT by FY 2029-30, the reports added.
