Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi launches fourth round of auction of 99 coal mines

New Delhi: Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi launched the fourth tranche of auction of 99 coal mines including 24 new mines at a function in Delhi yesterday. Launching the latest tranche, the Minister called upon the investors who have already completed successful bidding of coal mines to start production at the earliest for greater self-reliance in this sector.

Mr Joshi also urged the officials to identify more coal blocks for auctioning. He further pointed out that at least for next 30 to 40



years coal will continue to be crucial in India’s energy sector. He urged investors to step up participation in the fully transparent auction process evolved by the Coal Ministry.

Of these 99 mines on offer, 59 are fully explored mines and 40 are partially explored. These mines are spread across eight coal-bearing states. These are Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.