Gevra mine set to become Asia's largest as SECL approves capacity hike

6 Mar 2024 , 10:48 AM

On March 6, Coal India’s stock increased when the Gevra mine, operated by its subsidiary South Eastern Coalfield (SECL) in Chhattisgarh, received environmental approval to increase production to 70 million tonnes annually.

With the development, Gevra will surpass Indonesia’s Sangatta mine to become the biggest coal mine in Asia in terms of production.

With an approximate length of 10 km and a width of 4 km, the Gevra mine is the largest in India, capable of producing 52.5 million tonnes of coal annually.

One of Coal India’s eight wholly owned subsidiaries, SECL is a ‘Miniratna’ business. Its headquarters are in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, and it operates over ninety coal mines in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The company uses heavy earth-moving equipment including 42-cubic-meter shovels and 240-tonne dumpers for overburden removal in addition to environmentally safe, blast-free mining technology like surface miners and ripper mining equipment.

The Gevra mine development is in line with India’s goal of becoming self-sufficient in coal production and eliminating imports by the year FY26.

The company produced 167 million tonnes (MT) of coal in FY23; by FY24, it hopes to increase to 200 MT, and by FY26, to 260 MT. Additionally, previous fiscal year saw the highest-ever mineral offtake, with 160.05 million tonnes in FY23, and an all-time high of 139.92 MT of coal dispatched to the power sector.

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