The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : SCCL to convert poor quality coal into gas

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Sunday, Dec 31, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

SCCL to convert poor quality coal into gas

Special Correspondent

Extraction of low grade coal uneconomical

HYDERABAD: The State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has announced a long-term plan on New Year's eve to convert "poor quality coal" in its mines into gas or liquid form for sale as fuel.

After decades of exploitation, only low grade coal remains in some of the 58 mines of the SCCL. It is uneconomical to extract this coal and a way out is to use it in the form of gas or liquid. SCCL signed an agreement with Carbon Energy Limited of Australia to investigate the potential for underground coal gasification in its command areas. To make conventional mining more efficient, it entered into an MoU with Australia's CSIRO for research in strata mechanics, ventilation etc in Longwall underground mines.

The two agreements are expected to help SCCL, as it gears up to claim some of the 27 "captive blocks" of Coal India, which were identified by the Centre for privatisation. Also, SCCL wants to open 22 mines --six in Khammam, seven in Adilabad and eight in Karimnagar, in lieu of the closure of 17 existing mines. SCCL and NTPC formed a joint company to extract coal, trade through exports/imports, and set up power plants. Announcing these details at a press conference here on Saturday, SCCL CMD S. Narsing Rao said coal production by the company in 2005-06 touched 36 million tonnes, highest in its 117-year-long history. It was poised to achieve 38 million tonnes next year and 41 million tonnes by 2011.

The company ended the year with a Rs 312-crore after-tax profit for the Rs 4,209-crore turnover, as against Rs 184 crores last year.

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