CIL in talks with Russian company for extraction, import of coking coal

KOLKATA: Coal IndiaNSE -2.05 % (CIL) is in talks with Russian coal company Vostok-Coal-Diskon to participate in the extraction of coking coal and its imports from mines in the Siberian districts of Russia, Coal India executives said.

VostokCoal-Diskon is developing coal extraction facilities at the Taimyr coal basin of Taymyr Peninsula in central Siberia. It has been exploring the area since 2016 and has recently opened two deposits that would touch peak capacity of 30 million tonnes a year.

VostokCoal will build a coal terminal and create a specialised fleet for exporting coal round the year. Plans include bringing the coal home through the relatively new, Northern Sea Route, which connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean along the icy Russian coast of Siberia and the Russian Far East, through the Bering Strait near Alaska crossing five Arctic seas.