KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – NLC India (formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation) has signed up Adani Enterprises’ subsidiary Talabira Odisha Mining Private as the mine-developer operator (MDO) for the Talabira II and Talabira III coal blocks in Odisha.

In a regulatory filing, Adani Enterprises said that it had “signed a coal mining agreement with NLC India along with the company for development of the two coal blocks”.

The Adani group subsidiary emerged as the successful bidder in the tendering process, which had seen participation from several global MDOs.

Located in IB Valley, the blocks will have a mining capacity of 20-million tons a year from mineable reserves of 554-million tons. The projects could generate revenue of $1.9-billion, Adani said in the filing.

The Coal Ministry has allocated the two coal blocks to NLC India for development and production of dry fuel for captive consumption for its end-use thermal power plants.

The Talabira coal blocks, development of which has been mired in controversy for several years, were initially allocated jointly to NLC, aluminium producer Hindalco Industries and Mahanadi Coalfields, but neither of these companies were able to operationalise the asset following which the Coal Ministry allocated the blocks to NLC under special provisions of law enabling preferential allotment to government companies.

Having secured the coal blocks in Odisha and more such assets on its radar in the central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh, NLC India has jettisoned its earlier plans of acquiring coal assets overseas.

The southern Indian headquartered, miner-cum power producer has lined up investments to the tune of  Rs1.3-trillion to ramp up its total mining capacity from 30.60-million tons a year to 62.55-million tons a year by 2025 and power production capacity from 4 431 MW to 16 580 MW.

Besides bagging coal blocks on its own, NLC is aiming for inorganic growth and has appointed consultants to identify and advise on the acquisition of stressed power generation assets that have captive coal blocks to achieve this growth.