Coal India Ltd plans binding bids for coking coal assets

Coal India plans to submit binding bids for acquiring stakes in coking coal assets in Australia and Canada by March 2020. The firm is in the process of appointing merchant bankers for the assets it has identified. The quantum of stake to be bought would be decided after a due diligence.
In Australia, Coal India has shortlisted some working mines, while in Canada, it is targeting ready-to-produce blocks where exploration, land acquisition and environmental approvals have been completed.

After detailed preparatory work - which includes due diligence, onsite assessment, along with technical and legal advice - the investment proposal would be put up to its board for approval if the investment is within ?5,000 crore and beyond that the state-run miner would require clearance from the central government.

Coal India’s domestic reserves are inadequate to meet India’s demand. “The idea is to import coking coal into India since the country does not have adequate reserves of this category of the fossil fuel which is mainly used in metallurgical industries,” said chairman AK Jha.

The plan is to set up coking coal and high-grade thermal coal mining business overseas with a view to acquiring coal resources, producing the fuel and importing it either by opening new mines or through acquisition of equity participation in working mines on production-sharing participation interest basis.