Union Coal and Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday said more than 200 million tonne of coal stock adequate for 90 days is available in the country.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a roadshow organised by the Mines Ministry on the 7th Tranche Auction of critical mineral blocks and Tranche-2 Exploration Licence here, he said one billion tonne coal production was achieved in the country for the second year in a row.
“Today, coal adequate for 90 days, either with thermal power plants or at pitheads where mining takes place, is there. Earlier, we used to have coal adequate for only 21 to 25 days. But, today, more than 200 million tonne of coal adequate for 90 days is there with us,” he said.
He said the Centre aims to reduce dependence on imports and make the country ‘atma nirbhar’ (self-reliant) in the minerals sector.
“I would like to say on behalf of the Centre. The government does not work for revenue in the mineral sector. It takes major steps to make the country atma nirbhar in the mineral sector,” he said.
Observing that there are a lot of opportunities for extraction of critical minerals in urban mining and coal gasification in the future, he urged the private sector to work together with PSUs, State governments and others.
Reddy said there is a possibility of extracting 30-40 per cent of critical minerals required for the country through scrap from urban mining.
The government is preparing an action plan to extract critical minerals from refrigerators, air-conditioners and others by collecting scrap from every town, he said.
Union Mines Secretary Piyush Goyal said during FY 2025-26, a record 212 mineral blocks were auctioned compared to 364 blocks auctioned in the previous four years combined, taking the total to 684 blocks since the introduction of the auction regime in 2015.
In the critical mineral segment, 22 blocks were auctioned during the year. Thus, overall 71 critical mineral blocks have been auctioned so far, including 46 by the Centre and 25 by the State governments.
The 7th Tranche of critical and strategic mineral block auctions was launched on March 23, which comprises 19 blocks, 17 composite licence and two mining lease, he said.
He further said critical mineral is the sunrise sector and its importance is only going to rise with each passing year.
Over the past few years, the Ministry has undertaken a series of pathbreaking reforms aimed at improving transparency, enhancing efficiency and accelerating the pace of operationalisation, he said.