CIL Chairman lays foundation stone for Rs 285 cr FMC project at MCL

New Delhi: Coal Indian Limited's (CIL) Chairman Pramod Agrawal laid the foundation stone for Rs 285.05 crore for the First Mile Connectivity (FMC) project 'Lajkura SILO' at Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL). According to an official press release from the Ministry of Coal, this project will add 15 million tonnes per annum despatch capacity of MCL. Further, the Chairman also commissioned four 100 tonne dumpers and one mobile water sprinkler at Samleshwari OCP.

Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)

In addition to this, an innovative Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) has also been inaugurated at MCL on September 1. This system has been designed by the MCL's Innovation Cell and the Department of E&T, the portal named 'Vihangam' for remote monitoring was created by a Mumbai-based start-up of drone manufacturing, robotics and automation. This state-of-art initiative will enable the company to access real-time video through the internet and pave the way for other allied potential use-cases of drones in mines. This information has been shared by the Ministry of Coal in a press release.

"Carrying forward the vision of sustainable mining, MCL is implementing nine FMC projects to provide pollution-free state-of-the-art rake loading system at a total capital expenditure of Rs 3,600 crore. This will also generate a despatch capacity of 126 million tonnes per year, expected to be achieved by the year 2024," it added.

MCL was the first coal company to introduce environment-friendly surface mining technology in 1999. The biggest fleet of 66 surface miners is contributing 95 per cent of the total coal production of the company.

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