State-owned CIL intends to produce sand using overburden rocks lying at its various coal mines and the operation of five such sand plants is likely to commence by next year, the government said on Friday. Under the ‘overburden (OB) rocks-to-manufactured sand’ initiative, Coal India Ltd (CIL) facilitates processing of waste overburden at its open cast mines.
“CIL has envisaged to process the overburden rocks for sand production in mines where OB material contain about 60 per cent sandstone by volume which is harnessed through crushing and processing of overburden,” the coal ministry said in a statement.
Out of the five proposed plants, Ballarpur Plant of Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL) is expected to commence sand production by May.
