Second Round of Coal Auctions begin

Leading wire roap maker Usha Martin submitted the closing bid of Rs.1,804 per tonne for the Brinda and Sasai block in Jharkhand as the second round of auctions began Wednesday of the coal blocks whose allotments were cancelled by the Supreme Court.

The Brinda and Sasai block was earlier allotted to Abhijeet Infrastructure and has extractable reserves of 15.2 million tonnes. Two other mines in Jharkhand – Jitpur and Moitra – are on also offer with firms like Adani Power, JSW Steel, SAIL and BALCO in the race. The process for these blocks would be closed by the end of the day.

The companies vying for Jitpur mine – reserved for the power sector – are Adani Power, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources, Jaiprakash Power Ventures and Jindal Power. The mine was earlier allocated to Jindal Steel & Power.

For the Moitra mine – reserved for the non-power sector – the companies in the race are Jayaswal Neco Industries, JSW Steel and SAIL. It was earlier alloted to Jayaswal Neco. (IANS)