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The Ministry of Coal said that it has auctioned two more coal mines taking the tally of commercial auctioned mines to 30 which are likely to generate revenue of Rs 8,158 crore. It mentioned ‘With the conduct of this auction, Ministry of Coal has successfully auctioned 30 mines till date (comprising of 23 fully explored mines and 7 partially explored mines) from the launch of the first tranche in June 2020.’

It stated ‘Total Peak rated capacity auctioned till date is 63.17 MTPA with an average premium of approximately 27.78 per cent against the floor price of 4 per cent indicating strong demand for coal mines in market. These mines are expected to generate total annual revenue of nearly Rs 8,158.03 crore and estimated employment of 85,406.’ The Ministry of Coal had launched the 2nd attempt of the auction of 11 coal mines for commercial mining on September 27, 2021, and bids were received for four mines.

The auction was held for two mines that have received multiple bids. Commercial coal mine auction has witnessed strong competition and several first-time participants from the 'non-end user' category like Real Estate, Infrastructure, Pharma, etc., have also emerged as successful bidders in the auction, which is a positive sentiment shared by the industry after removal of 'End Use' criteria from the bidding process and is expected to bring in more efficiency and technological advancement in the mining industry.