There are plans to double the production capacity of International Coal Ventures Pvt Ltd (ICVL) to 4 million tonne per annum at an investment of USD 150-200 million, the chairman of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) Amarendru Prakash said.
Mozambique-based ICVL is a special purpose vehicle of SAIL, RINL, NMDC, CIL and NTPC for acquiring coal mines and assets overseas.
In Mozambique, the production capacity of ICVL is being doubled and a detailed project report is being prepared in this regard, Prakash told PTI on the sidelines the ISA Coking Coal Summit in the national capital.
When asked about the investment for doubling the capacity, the Chairman said, ”it will be to the tune of USD 150-200 million.” He added that SAIL has procured around eight coking coal shipments of 75,000 tonne, from Russia in the first two quarters of 2023-24.
It is expected that supplies from Russia will continue in the same proportion for the remaining two quarters of the fiscal year.
On prices of the coking coal being sourced from Russia, Prakash, without sharing any numbers said, ”They are comparatively cheaper than those sourced from Australia and the US.” Coking coal is a key raw material used in steel making and the players meet around 90 per cent requirement of coking coal through imports.
The expansion of ICVL will help increase the supply of coking coal to SAIL and RINL.
According to SteelMint India, coking coal prices have moved up by around USD 100 per tonne in the last six months to trade at USD 350 per tonne at present.