First commercial coal mining auctions end

The first auction of coal mines to be used for commercial purposes ended on Monday with Sarda Energy and Minerals winning the Gare Palma 4/7 mine in Chhattisgarh.

Coal minister Prahlad Joshi said the states where the 19 blocks that went under the hammer were located would get an annual revenue of around Rs 6,656 crore and generate nearly 70,000 jobs, with peak capacity to touch 51 million tonnes per annum.

In the bidding for Gare Palma 4/7, Sarda Energy outbid Adani, JSPL and Hindalco with a revenue sharing of 66.75 per cent. The mine is estimated to have 234 million tonnes (mt) of geological reserves and could garner Rs 210 crore in annual revenue to the Chhattisgarh government.