Coal India to invite bids for abandoned mines again

Kolkata : Coal India (CIL), the government’s near-monopoly producer, is planning to again try to interest major firms, here and abroad, into reviving some of its abandoned mines. Its first attempt, in 2008, finally had no takers.

The idea was to develop 18 abandoned underground mines, with estimated reserves of 1,600 million tonnes of coking and thermal coal, under joint ventures with international players. “After a pre-notice inviting tender (NIT) meeting with the shortlisted parties, the government had approved the model NIT document. However, in the first round of limited tendering, none of the shortlisted parties responded. We are looking to go for a second round of tendering in another two months," said N C Jha, chairman and managing director, on the sidelines of the firm’s 37th annual general meeting here on Tuesday.