New Delhi: State-owned CIL is looking at green mining options by leveraging a slew of eco-friendly technologies in both underground and opencast mines, a move that would help in augmenting the production and reduce the adverse impact on environment. With land turning out to be a major pain point for expansion of coal mining operations, these technologies bypass land acquisition and avoid its degradation.

“Coal India Ltd (CIL) is taking a close look on green mining options in a bid to minimise adverse environmental impact by leveraging a slew of eco-friendly technologies in its underground and opencast mines,” the maharatna firm said.

The locked-up coal assets left out earlier due to techno-commercial and safety concerns can now be unearthed through these technologies, it said.

The Public Sector Unit (PSU) is exploring ramping up its underground production by four-fold to 100 million tonnes (MT) by FY30 from 25.6 MT in FY22.

Production from underground mines is environmentally clean, minimally invasive on land degradation and society friendly, it said.

Around 70 per cent of the country’s coal reserves are conducive for underground mining. The aim is to make underground production sizably supplement the opencast output. At current rate, mineable coal reserves at existing opencast will slowly start lowering.

CIL accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.