Coal India (CIL), which is already reeling under a pandemic stress that has had a negative effect on demand and the availability of dry coal, said Friday that the situation will remain uncertain in July-September, as some countries are resorting to fresh lockdowns. The state-owned miner produced 18.05 million tons (MT) of coal from 1 July to 16 July, compared to 19.61 MT produced in the same timeframe last year.
Coal output in some of the major mines continues to be impacted by high coal stocks and less waste. Pithead ‘s stock of CIL as of 16 July is 72.88 MT compared to 33.17 MT for the same span last year, it said.
Nevertheless, with concerted efforts, there was a 16.7% rise in overload removal (OB) between 1 July and 16 July relative to the same time last year.
Due to the continued lockdown and various guidelines issued by central and state governments, normalcy has not yet been restored, affecting the production and dispatch of coal, Coal India said in the BSE event.
From March 15 to March 31, CIL produced 51.32 MT of coal.
In view of the rapid spread of coronavirus, the government declared a national lockout on 25 March, which was later expanded in phases.
Dispatch of coal was adversely affected in the last week of March as a result of the mounting of the coal stock at the pithead. Coal reserve as at March 31 was 74,629 MT compared to 54,155 MT as at March 31 , 2019.
Restriction on the movement of vehicles severely affected by the supply of explosives in the mines.
Moreover, the interruption of movement affected the availability of manpower, the spare parts for heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) that had an impact on mining production, it said.
Coal India produced 121.01 MT of coal during April 1-June 30, compared to 136.94 MT in the same period last year.
The continued lockdown during this time (April 1-June 30) had an adverse impact on the shipment of coal by CIL.
With a decrease in power demand of around 30% and the closure of many non-power industries due to lockdown, CIL ‘s output decreased to 12O.62 MT compared to 153.49 MT over the same period last year.
Pithead ‘s stock at May 31 reached up to 78,093 MT during that period (April 1-June 30), adding that the stock at the power stations also remained high during that period.
The availability of explosives was limited by limitations on inter-state travel.
The explosive manufacturer faced the issue of raw materials and other logistics for the manufacture of explosives, which in effect affected the timely supply of explosives to CIL’s subsidiary companies.
Contract and departmental production during this time (April 1-June 30) were affected due to a shortage of staff due to restrictions on movement.
The downtime of the machines increased due to the lack of availability of spare parts due to restrictions on interstate transport, it said.
HEMM shipments such as dozers, graders, dumpers and excavators could not be shipped on time. As there was less demand for coal during this time, efforts were made to optimize overload elimination, CIL said.
