Bhubaneswar : Public sector Amuminium producer National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) on Friday said that it has been granted the mining lease of Utkal-E coal block by the Government of Odisha.
The lease has been granted by the Department of Steel & Mines, Government of Odisha, through a notification issued on April 12. As per the notification, the mining lease of Utkal-E coal block is over an area of 523.73 Ha in villages Nandichhod, Gopinathpur Jungle, Kundajhari Jungle, Kosala & Korada under Chendipada Tahasil of Angul District. The initial capacity of Utkal-E coal block is 2 million tonnes per year with a total mineable reserve of approx. 70 million tonnes.
NALCO has already executed the mining lease for the Utkal D Coal block in March 2021. With the grant of Utkal D & E coal blocks, the total mineable coal reserve of the Company will be 175 million tonnes, which will be pivotal in meeting the coal requirement of its Captive Power Plant at Angul, Odisha.
“The NALCO team is very optimistic on starting the mining operation from Utkal-D coal block in this financial year. With the grant of the mining lease of Utkal E coal block, the planned expansion activities of the Company will get a boost and will contribute significantly to the bottom line of NALCO”, said Sridhar Patra, CMD, NALCO.
NALCO is eying to produce 4 million tonnes coal per year from the operation of Utkal-D & E coal blocks. The lease for Utkal-D & E Coal block has been granted to NALCO for a period of 30 years.