BCCL, SAIL to join hands for mining project
kolkata : Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) will soon launch a joint venture with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for underground mining at Moonidih mines in Jharkhand.
"We have already identified a patch at Moonidih XV seam and decided to go for a Rs.5 billion joint venture project of which SAIL will invest Rs.3 billion. The project will shortly be signed between BBCL and SAIL," said BCCL chairman and managing director A.K. Paul here Wednesday.
He said BCCL will guarantee equipment and production and SAIL will chip in with money.
BCCL is a subsidiary unit of Coal India Limited (CIL). The company operates 70 mines - 68 in the Jharia Coalfield and two in the Ranigunj Coalfield.
It has 36 underground, 12 open cast and 22 mixed mines. Besides these, BCCL operates several coking and non-coking coal washeries and various other units.
To achieve a turnaround, BCCL is gearing up to augment one million tonnes of coking production annually to generate Rs.3 billion profit.
"To meet the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) target, we are trying to achieve 25 mt of production in 2007-08 and also trying to achieve Rs.5.26 billion profit, including the backlogs which we could not fulfil in last two years, in the current financial year," said Paul, adding the company has several other projects like modernisation and upgradation of washeries in the pipeline.
"In next five years we are going to invest Rs.13.5 billion for undergoing development and upgradation works in all BCCL coking coal mines," Paul added.
