Steel Authority of India Limited and Bharat Coking Coal Limited have agreed to jointly develop and operate two adjoining coal blocks in West Bengal with a combined peak rated capacity of 4 million tonnes per annum, aimed at increasing domestic coking coal production.
The two state-owned companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint development of SAIL’s Indikatta Ramnagore coal block and BCCL’s East of Damagoria (Kalyaneshwari) coal block. The proposed development is expected to tap around 79 million tonnes of potential extractable reserves in Phase 1, according to BCCL’s regulatory filing.
A key feature of the plan is an integrated mining arrangement between the adjoining blocks. Under the proposed sequence, mining will initially be undertaken in the Kalyaneshwari block, with overburden generated from operations dumped in the Ramnagore block. The arrangement will be reversed in Phase 2, with mining shifting to Ramnagore and corresponding overburden management carried out on the other side. BCCL said the coordinated approach is intended to enable more efficient utilisation of the two coal resources.
The project aims to increase the availability of domestically produced coking coal for India’s steel industry, which uses the fuel as a key raw material in conventional blast furnace-based steelmaking, with BCCL describing the partnership as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic coking coal sources and support raw-material availability for the sector.
