In order to realize the vision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to provide 24X7 affordable power for all, Shri Piyush Goyal Union Minister of State(IC) for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy conducted a roundtable on Efficient Coal Mining and Clean coal technologies at Brisbane, Australia today. The Roundtable was attended by officials of the Ministry of Coal, major coal companies of India namely, CIL, CMPDIL, NTPC etc. and major Australian companies such as Glencore, Rio Tinto, Geo Gas, Carbon Energy, E&Y, Ground Probe and Queensland Resources Council as well as Government organizations such as Trade and Investment Queensland.
During the roundtable extensive discussions were held over efficient mining practices, exploration, mining technologies for opencast as well as underground, reclamation and rehabilitation of mined out areas, Mine safety, Clean Coal Technologies and Coal beneficiation etc. An over view of India’s coal sector was presented highlighting the status and challenges which was followed by the presentations by CIL and CMPDIL covering the above mentioned areas. Australian companies presented their capabilities in different areas and highlighted the projects they are engaged in particularly Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) viz Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Coal Mine Methane (CMM), Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), safety improvement, reclamation of mined out areas etc.
Shri Piyush Goyal highlighted the vision and efforts of the Prime Minister towards energy security for India and mentioned that in view of the proposed enhancement of coal production in the next five years India is focusing on technological development, modernization, safety improvement and skill development. In addition to coal mining there was also a focus on clean coal technologies, including coal washing, coal bed methane development and underground coal gasification.
Post the cancellation of 204 coal blocks by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, India has auctioned 31 Coal Mines and allotted 42 Coal Mines to Central/State Government Companies for captive use. Taking the process forward and also to augment availability of domestic coal thereby reducing dependence on imported coal, the Government has finalised the methodology of allocation of coal mines for commercial mining to Central/State PSUs. Many of these blocks can explore usage of Australian clean coal technologies thus helping reduce emissions while also helping reduce cost of production thus helping meet the aim of affordable power for all.