Bhubaneswar(NewsTimePro):
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), one of leading producer of alumina and aluminium in the country, was granted the mining lease of Utkal-D coal block by the Odisha government, through a notification issued on April 16, by department of Steel & Mines.
As per the notification, the mining lease of Utkal D coal block is spread over an area of 301.28 hectares in Kosala, Nandichood, Similisahi and Raijharan villages under Chendipada Tehasil of Angul district.
NALCO is considering to open Utkal-D coal block in the current financial year (2020-21). The initial capacity of Utkal-D coal block is 2 million tonnes per year with a total mineable reserve of 101.68 million tonnes.
Expressing confidence that the operationalization of Utkal-D coal block will contribute significantly to the growth of the company, NALCO CMD Sridhar Patra thanked the State and Centre for sanction of mining lease.
“For a power intensive industry like aluminium, it is very essential to have a secure supply of coal. I hope with the mining lease in place, it
will usher in a new era of development for the company,” he said.The Utkal-D coal block was allocated to NALCO in May2016. NALCO is also in the process of obtaining mining lease grant of Utkal- E coal block, allocated around the same time.Upon Operation of both Utkal-D & E, NALCO will be able to produce 4 million tonnes coal per year. The lease for Utkal-D has been granted for a period of 30 years.
About Nalco :
National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) is a Navratna CPSE under Ministry of Mines. It was established on 7th January, 1981, with its registered office at Bhubaneswar. The Company is a group ‘A’ CPSE, having integrated and diversified operations in mining, metal and power. The Company registered a record net-profit of Rs 1732 crore in 2018-19, which is the highest in a decade and sales turnover of Rs 11386 crore in financial year 2018-19, which is the highest since inception. The export earning have been recorded at 4,793 crore, also registering an impressive growth of 18 per cent over 2017-18. In matters of profitability, NALCO is ahead of its private sector peers by registering EBIDTA margin of 28 per cent. Presently, Government of India holds 51.5% equity of NALCO.
