Coal India output grows 9.5% to record 60 MT

State-owned business Coal India Ltd (CIL) set a new record for monthly output in May 2023, with 60 million tonnes (MT), representing a significant 9.5% year-over-year gain. According to a press release on Thursday, the miner and its affiliates produced 54.7 MT of coal in the same month last year. “CIL’s May 2023 production rose to a record 60 MT, logging 9.5% growth over the same month last year with an increase of 5.2 MT,” CIL said in a statement highlighting the noteworthy accomplishment. Given that May production typically ranges between 40 and 48 MT, the increase in CIL output in May of the current fiscal was sizable. Every subsidiary reported positive development.
Progressive production reaches 117.5 MT in April–May 2023, an 8.6% increase over the 108.2 MT recorded at the same time last year. This growing trend is still present.

NewsOTG gathered that Total coal supplies increased by 4.1% from 61.2 MT in May 2022 to 63.7 MT in May 2023, which is a good level. Additionally, the coal off-take for April through May 2023 was 126 MT, an increase of 6.2% from the same time last year (118.6 MT). The removal of overburden (OBR) by CIL saw significant expansion as well; it reached 178.2 million cubic meters (mcum) in May 2023, a remarkable 35% increase from May 2022. All subsidiaries contributed to the increase in overburden removal. CIL excavated 346 mcum of OBR in April and May of FY24, a significant 32% increase.

The layers of dirt, rock, and other elements that must be removed in order to extract coal from open-cast mines are referred to as overburden. Overburden reduction, often known as OBR, is the process of removing this excess weight. The supply of 22.3 MT of coal to the non-power sector, which represents a 29% year-over-year growth by the end of May FY2024, was another encouraging development noted by CIL. When compared to the 17.3 MT given at the same time period the year before, this is a significant 5 MT increase.

As of the end of May, India’s coal-based power plants, which primarily rely on supply from CIL, were well-stocked with 35 MT of coal as the summer season got underway. According to CIL, the inventory of coal at its pitheads is 61 MT, and when you factor in coal that is stored in private washeries, goods sheds, captive mines, ports, and while it is in transit, the total buffer stock of coal is somewhere about 111 MT. This exceptional performance by CIL highlights its dedication to supplying India’s expanding coal demand and adds to the country’s energy security. The company’s dedication to assisting India’s economic development and guaranteeing the availability of crucial energy resources is shown in the company’s record production and the encouraging expansion in supplies to various sectors.