Rs 762 crore to be invested in underground coal mines in FY'16: report

New Delhi: Funds to the tune of Rs 762 crore are likely to be invested in the underground coalmines in the ongoing fiscal, said the government.  "Funds likely to be invested in underground mines for the year 2015-16 would be to the tune of 762 crore which is 12 per cent of total capex of 2015-16," Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said in a reply to Lok Sabha.  He further said that against the output target of 37.600 million tonnes (MT) from the underground mines in the last fiscal, Coal India produced 35.042 MT. The scope for augmenting production from the underground mines, he said, was limited on account of difficult geo-mining conditions, non-availability of large size deposits for  adopting mass production technologies, inadequate experience  in mechanisation of underground mines, among others.    

He further said that the major constraints in increasing  coal production from underground mines, include lack of  appropriate technologies to mine coal from thick and steeply  inclines and multiple seams, heavy pumping out of water and adverse roof conditions.There are 227 working underground mines and 28 mixed mines under Coal India, he said.