New Delhi: South Eastern Coalfield Limited’s (SECL) Gevra mine in Chhattisgarh, operated by Coal India, has received environmental clearance to expand its production capacity to 70 million tonnes annually, making it set to become Asia’s largest coal mine. The current capacity of the mine is 52.5 million tonnes per annum.
This expansion comes after concerted efforts by the ministry of coal and the ministry of environment, forest, and climate change (MoEFCC) to secure the clearance in record time, underlining the mine’s strategic importance to India’s energy sector. ‘Under the guidance of the ministry of coal, a historic milestone has been achieved by the Coal India team today. We have a vision for Gevra to become the largest coal mine in the world with state-of-art mining operations and this is a significant milestone towards that journey,” said Prem Sagar Misha, CMD, SECL.
SECL management thanked the Ministry for their support in securing the EC for the Gevra mine and said this is a historic day for us that SECL and the state of Chhattisgarh will soon be home to the largest coal mine in Asia. He also expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for their support and swift action in granting the EC , as well as to the agencies of Centre and State and the Chhattisgarh Government.
Gevra, a mega project of SECL, emerged as the largest coal mine in India last year, with an annual production of 52.5 million tonnes for FY 22-23. The mine, in operation for over four decades, spans approximately 10 kilometers in length and 4 kilometers in breadth.
Now Gevra employs eco-friendly, blast-free mining technologies such as Surface Miner and Ripper Mining, and utilizes some of the highest capacity heavy earth-moving machinery (HEMM) for overburden removal. Additionally, the mine boasts first-mile connectivity with conveyor belts, silos, and a Rapid Loading System for efficient and environmentally conscious coal evacuation.
Source: ETEnergyWorld
