The Ministry of Coal has launched the 16th round of commercial coal mine auctions. The 16th round offers 25 coal blocks, including 21 fully explored and four partially explored mines, across nine coal-bearing states.
These nine states are Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal. Furthermore, of the 25 blocks, six are being offered under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act and 19 under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. The auction is open to experienced mining companies, new entrants and technology-driven enterprises under the commercial coal mining framework. Along with this, the Ministry also executed Coal Mine Development and Production Agreements for six mines auctioned in earlier rounds. These mines have combined geological reserves of around 1,504 million tonnes and a combined peak rated capacity of 11.62 million tonnes per annum.