The Ministry of Coal has opened bids for the 12th round of commercial underground coal block auctions. Out of six blocks on offer, two received submissions. A total of 14 bids鈥攕ubmitted both online and offline鈥攚ere received for the Rajgamar Dipside (Deavnara) and Rajgamar Dipside (South of Phulakdih Nala) blocks, both classified as non-coking coal reserves.
Eight companies participated in the bidding process. Each of the first six firms submitted two bids, while two others submitted one bid each. The companies in the fray include Godawari Power and Ispat, Dilip Buildcon, TMC Mineral Resources, Singhal Steel and Power, NRSKS Mines and Minerals, Shyam Ores (Jharkhand), Mivaan Steels, and Shyam Metalics and Energy.
The bids were opened in the presence of all participating companies, first electronically via online decryption followed by the opening of sealed offline documents. The process was made transparent by displaying live updates on-screen.
Moving forward, a multi-disciplinary Technical Evaluation Committee will assess the proposals. Bidders who pass this technical review will be eligible to participate in the next phase: electronic auctions to be held on the MSTC portal.
The opening of bids marks a significant step in India鈥檚 continued efforts to expand commercial coal mining under the latest auction round.
