India’s dependence on coking coal imports is around 85 percent (Representation)

The government should include coking coal in the list of critical minerals and grant special dispensation to improve domestic production of the essential raw material for steel production, according to a Niti Aayog report.

The report “Improving Domestic Availability of Coking Coal to Reduce Import of Coking Coal” states that given India’s commitments to net zero emissions by 2070, the country’s interests would be best served by fully utilizing the proven reserves of medium coking coal (16.5 billion tonnes) in India for metallurgical purposes.

“The Government of India (GoI) must include coking coal in the list of critical minerals as coking coal constitutes around 42 per cent of the cost of steel, which is an essential commodity for the development of infrastructure and industries downstream, which are important job creators in India,” the report said.

The European Union has declared coking coal a critical raw material, alongside 29 other raw materials that include “green energy” minerals like lithium, cobalt and rare earths.

India’s dependence on coking coal imports is around 85 percent, which is much higher than that of the EU (around 62 percent).

“Since the declaration of coking coal as a critical mineral is amply justified in India, the Government of India may grant special dispensation to increase its domestic production to ensure the safety of coking coal for the Indian steel sector,” it added. -he.

Integrated Steel Plants (ISPs) imported 58 tonnes of coking coal at a cost of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in FY 2023-24, despite holding proven geological resources of 5.13 billion tonnes (BT) of premium coking coal and 16.5 BT of medium coking coal.

According to the report, the capacity utilization of PSU laundries was below 32 per cent in the financial year 2022-23, while the yields of washed (clean) coal were only 35-36 per cent.

“This contrasts sharply with the performance of the four private coking coal washeries, which have 75 percent capacity utilization and higher washed coal yields,” he said.

The report also suggests that the government amend the Coal Areas Act, 1957 (CBA) so that the SPV, under the public-private partnership mode, continues to be considered a tenant of the Jharkhand government even after the transfer of the majority share of the SPV. to the private sector.

According to the report, the Ministry of Coal must allow the necessary policy changes to allow the joint venture to sell by-products (intermediates and residues) from coking coal washers.

“This is essential to reducing the costs of clean washed coal, as the profits from the sale of these by-products must be passed on to the steelworks in the form of lower coking coal costs,” he said. -he declared.

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