Hyderabad | June 2, 2016: Keen to tap the potential coal reserves in the Chintalpudi in West Godavari and Nuziveedu in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh Government has engaged the services of Mining Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) and National Mining Exploration trust (NMIT).

The coal reserves in Andhra Pradesh across these two districts are extension of coal reserves located across four districts of Telangana where Singareni Collieries Company Limited undertakes mining activity.

The Government had enlisted the services of Geological Survey of India for preliminary exploration and has now inked with these two Central agencies to facilitate further exploration and identify coal blocks, which could then to be handed over to developers for coal mining. Most of the coal reserves in these areas are located in underground sites making it relatively costlier affair to mine coal.

As per State Mining Department, the State proposes to take up mining of coal by 2017 by allocating blocks through auction. With all the coal-based thermal power plants in the State dependent on coal from other States, including SCCL in Telangana, Odisha and imported coal, AP Mineral Development Corporation is keen to have its own mines which will help make it self reliant down the line once mines get into production mode.

Recently, the Andhra Pradesh Government has inked a memorandum with these two specialised agencies which will help take the current exploration process to a stage where potential coal blocks would be identified and then offered to developers. The State is keen to extract first coal by next year from these potential areas, stated to hold more than 1,000 million (one billion) tonnes.

Both these agencies now currently work with Andhra Pradesh in facilitating lime stone mining and sale.

(Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/)