SECL to raise underground mining share from 6.5% to 25% of total coal output by 2030: CMD

Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh): South-Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), is planning to ramp up its coal production from underground coal mines by 2030 so that it accounts for 25 percent of its total coal production, said Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Harish Duhan. According to the coal production plan prepared by Coal India for its subsidiaries, SECL is expected to produce 260 Million Tonnes (MT) of coal by FY2029-30. A 25 percent share of this figure works out to be around 65 MT. In FY2024-25, SECL produced 168 MT of coal, of which only 11 MT — or about 6.5 percent — came from underground mines.

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“Underground coal mining is considered an environment-friendly method of extracting coal. With the use of state-of-the-art technology, mass production technology and continuous miners, the production increases in an environment-friendly manner by simultaneously ensuring safety,” said Duhan. He added that in comparison to opencast mining, surface degradation in underground mining is very little.

Underground mining still a small share of CIL’s output

Underground coal mining in India has so far been limited due to higher operational costs compared to open-cast methods. In 2023-24, only 26 MT of CIL’s total production of 773.64 MT came from underground coal mines — a share of just 3.4 percent. To change this trend, the Ministry of Coal has set a target of producing 100 MT of coal from underground coal mines by 2030. SECL, which owns the largest number of underground coal mines among Coal India subsidiaries, is expected to play a key role in meeting the target.

56 underground coal mines identifies for mass production tech deployment

“We have identified 56 projects wherein mass production technology will be employed for underground coal mining and the production capacity (referring to underground mining) will be increased to more than double by 2030,” said Duhan. “With the employment of technological advancement, the company managed to prevent mishaps during mining activities, be it underground or open cast,” he added.

One of the key machines employed for mass production in underground coal mining is the Continuous Miner. It combines cutting and loading in one operation, unlike traditional methods that require blasting and separate loading. It works by using a rotating cutting head to extract coal, which is then transferred onto a conveyor belt and moved away from the mining face. Two days ago, Minister of State (MoS) for Coal Satish Chandra Dubey virtually inaugurated and flagged off a state-of-the-art low-height Continuous Miner machine at the NCPH underground mine in SECL’s Chirimiri Area.

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