Unshackling Coal Sector: Easier commercial mining bid documents on cards

NEW DELHI: After waiting for more than five years, the government may finally throw open the doors of the regulated coal sector for commercial mining by the private sector Indian and overseas miners in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020-21.

Government sources said that draft rules, bid documents and agreements for commercial mining has been prepared and it would be finalised by the end of the month after Cabinet approval with auctions starting soon thereafter.

The decision would permit domestic mining firms like Essel Mining, Sesa Goa, JSW Energy, Vedanta, Adani and global giants like Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, PesBody, Glencore and Vale to mine and sell and help ramp up output from the country’s huge reserves — the world’s fifth biggest. It will also offer an additional source of fuel for power producers, some of whom are facing low coal stocks at their plants.

In order to address the concerns of the potential bidders, the coal ministry conducted pre-bid consultations stakeholders in Kolkata and Mumbai last month. Based on the suggestions received, the government has now agreed to ease bidding conditions that would form part of the document that would go for cabinet approval.

Sources said that government is considering allowing diet route for potential bidders of commercial coal mine and offer simultaneous prospecting and mining lease to bidders to ensure certainty on the investments made by the bidders. This would also prevent companies from making aggressive bids that puts the company in a difficult financial situation at production stage.

The bidding document may also offer larger flexibility to prospective companies in terms of revenue share commitment. Draft auction guidelines have proposed a floor price of 4% of revenue share for the auction and bids are to be accepted in multiples of 1% of the revenue share till the percentage of revenue share is up to 10% and thereafter bids would be accepted in multiples of 0.50% of the revenue share. This may be reduced to facilitate ease of bidding and true price discovery.

Also, the bid document may incentivise companies who also offer to undertake coal gasification from mines won by them. The revenue share for coal gasification would be kept low to active participation of companies.

The success of the first bidding round for commercial mines would have to be weighed against lack of investor interest in some of the recent coal auctions for end user plants. Companies shied away from bidding for 27 coal mine put up for auctions in the recent eighth, ninth and tenth rounds of bids turning the exercise into a damp squib. Only six blocks out of 27 received adequate bids to go under the hammer.

“It is tough time to get investment commitment from investors even for commercial mining. However, the location of mines and quality and reserve of coal could change investment decisions,” said a coal ministry official, adding that the size of coal blocks in the commercial mining route would be substantially large. The commercial mining auctions could see in all 15 large coal blocks with annual production potential of 5-10 million tonnes being put up for bidding in phases. The reserves in five of these mines could be in excess of 500 million tonnes. These could fetch anywhere between Rs 5,000 and 6,000 crore to the state government. (IANS)

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