Exclusive | Amid high production, coal mines grapple with storage issues

Gevra coal mine

India’s growing electricity demand has pushed the country’s coal mines into record production this year. But now, the mines face a new problem: safe storage of the extracted coal.

Government data accessed by Moneycontrol showed that in the first quarter of the financial year 2024, so far (April 1 to June 16, 2023), a total of 218.5 million tonnes (MT) of extracted coal were lying at various mines of Coal India Limited (CIL), Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and at captive blocks. This is at least 25 percent more than the stocks lying in the mines during the same period last year. Last year, between April 1 and June 16, the total coal stocked at mines stood at 174.43 MT.

This month as well, coal stocks lying at mines to date are almost 30 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Coal has long been recognised as a fire hazard in storage facilities due to its ability to self-ignite and spontaneously combust. Spontaneous combustion takes place when coal reacts with oxygen and burns without igniting, with streams of smoke emanating from stockpiles at mines that have remained exposed for long.

The storage problem has turned so grave this year that the government has had to curtail production at some mines for lack of additional space. “It is a serious problem this time because production has never been as high. At some mines such as in Chhattisgarh's Kusmunda, we were even forced to curtail production because all our huge siding stations for coal storage were full up to the brim.” said a senior official in the ministry of coal, requesting anonymity.

Coal stocks at mines in India.

“Even if you see month-wise, in April, stocks at the mines have been 22.5 percent more than last year. In May, it was 24 percent more, and in June so far, it has been 30 percent higher than last year," the official said.

Moneycontrol has sent queries to Coal India. This copy will be updated when the company responds.

Problem of plenty

At South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of CIL, which operates Asia's biggest mine at Gevra in Chhattisgarh, measures to prevent self-combustion of coal stockpiles largely involve sprinkling of water. However, that has a flipside as it lowers the quality of coal.

“Given the high temperatures in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the water dries out very quickly and we have to keep sprinkling water for several rounds in a day to avoid self-heating or self-combustion of the coal. The problem, however, is that sprinkling water reduces the quality of the coal to some extent and that is a compromise we need to make. But, it still remains within the acceptable limits of coal for power plants,” said the SECL official, requesting anonymity.

Also read: Exclusive | States stay away from rail-ship-rail route for coal transportation this summer.

A second senior coal ministry official said large quantities of coal remained piled up at the mines this time because fewer railway rakes were being provided for timely transportation. Also, demand was not as steep as last year due to relatively favourable weather conditions, with several parts of the country witnessing sporadic rains.

“The stock at thermal power plants was fairly adequate this year — it has remained at about 35 MT, which is a pretty manageable situation. As a result, coal pickup from the mines slowed down and thus, we had to curtail our production at several points in the past three months. This is an ongoing problem this time, and we are still looking at ways to mitigate it,” said the official, requesting anonymity.

On June 9, the country witnessed record-high power demand of 223.23 GW, surpassing the previous high of 222.92 GW on June 8.