Commercial mining: Govt receives 76 bids for 23 coal mines; Adani Enterprises top bidder

• A total of 76 bids have been received for 23 coal mines and two or more bids have been received for 19 coal mines

• While Adani Enterprises bid for seven blocks, Hindalco and JMS Mining bid for five blocks each

New Delhi: Adani Enterprises has emerged as the top bidder and is among the 42 companies that have bid for 23 coal mines put on auction for commercial mining for the first time in India. Other companies on the list include Hindalco Industries Ltd. JMS Mining Pvt. Ltd., Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corp. Ltd, EMIL Mines and Minerals Resources Ltd, Vedanta Ltd, Jindal Power Ltd and Jindal Steel & Power Limited. A total of 76 bids have been received for 23 coal mines and two or more bids have been received for 19 coal mines, said the Ministry of Coal on Wednesday.

The government had put up a total of 38 coal mines for auction, however, it has received bids for 23 coal mines. The auction was launched by on June 18 this year and the technical bids opened on Wednesday.

"Technical Bids comprising of online and offline bid documents as a part of the auction process of 38 coal mines, were opened today i.e. September 30, 2020, 10:00am onwards in New Delhi, in the presence of the bidders. Bidders were provided with the option of joining the meeting in-person or virtually. The auction process of 38 coal mines for sale of coal was launched by Ministry of Coal on June 18, 2020. The last date of submission of technical bid was 2:00 pm on September 29, 2020," the statement said.

"The online bids were decrypted and opened electronically in the presence of the bidders. Subsequently, sealed envelopes containing offline bid documents were also opened in the presence of bidders. Entire process was displayed on the screen for the bidders," the statement added.

Commercial coal block auction: Bidders' tally

While Adani Enterprises bid for seven blocks, Hindalco and JMS Mining bid for five blocks each, and Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation Ltd, Aurobindo Reality and Infrastructure and EMIL Mines and Minerals Resources put in bids for four blocks each. Vedanta Ltd bid for three blocks and Jindal Power Ltd and Jindal Steel & Power Limited submitted bids for two blocks each. There was also one PSU on the list of bidders — NALCO — who bid for one block.

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The Gare Palma IV/7 block in Chattisgarh and Gotitoria (East) & Gotitoria (West) in Madhya Pradesh received the highest number of bids on the list — eight.

What happens next?

The bids will now be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary Technical Evaluation Committee and the qualified bidders will be asked to participate in the electronic auction which will be conducted on October 19 on the MSTC portal.

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