CEOs fear any change in status of the mines will mean disruption in production, loss of investment and increased production cost for user industries.
The coal ministry is likely to begin next week issuing deallocation letters to private firms whose mines were cancelled and those where bank guarantees were deducted for sitting idle on mines given to them for captive use, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal on Monday said.
Parliament has cleared the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, recently. The objective of the Act is to invite investments from the private sector, including foreign companies, for mining minerals such as lithium and other critical minerals. Other than lithium, some of these minerals were classified as atomic minerals, including beryl and beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum and zirconium.
The Cabinet had had approved promulgation of the Ordinance on Insurance Bill and re-promulgation of the Coal Ordinance on Wednesday, a day after the conclusion of the Winter session of Parliament.
Novelis' Q3FY25 volume stood at 904,000 tonnes (down 1 per cent Y-o-Y, down 4 per cent Q-o-Q), due to lower VAP and automotive shipments. Revenue stood at $4.1 billion (+4 per cent Y-o-Y, down 5 per cent Q-o-Q).
Tata Steel has built an iron ore chest of nearly 600 million tonnes (mt) and will look for more as it prepares for life beyond 2030 when its legacy captive mines come up for auction. The lease for four of its existing iron ore mines -- Joda East, Noamundi, Katamati, and Khondbond -- that feed the domestic operation with low-cost iron ore is going to expire in 2030, following changes in mining regulations. The year will also coincide with Tata Steel's ambitious target of doubling steelmaking capacity in India to 40 mt, increasing the need for iron ore. The company is pushing the pedal to ensure that it has enough resources to meet enhanced needs.
'The day I took charge, the PM told me you do the following -- stop imports, talk to all stakeholders and involve them to make mining more industry-friendly without affecting the environment.'
Hindalco's first quarter (Q1FY23) results indicate healthy domestic volumes for aluminium and copper, and lower cost of production. Subsidiary Novelis saw weak volume trends but it managed to push operating profit margins on a better mix and pricing hikes. The weak global outlook on aluminium is a cause for ongoing concern.
It is hoped that the decision of India's apex court will send a signal to politicians and their cronies from the world of business that the rule of the law does eventually prevail, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
Major corporates are staring at an uncertain future after investing substantially on their projects
Between 2007-08 and 2017-18, the number of countries they imported steam coal from has increased from six to 12.
After a year and a half of investigation, the agency has failed to name any public official involved in the scam.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday suspended the three-year jail term of former Union minister Dilip Ray in a coal scam case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand block in 1999.
In the second and final part of this interview, energy and coal industry expert Sunjoy Joshi tells Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com that we need to take a comprehensive view of the entire energy sector and how piecemeal reform won't take us very far.
Strong performance by its US subsidiary Novelis and better returns in the copper business helped Hindalco Industries post consolidated revenue growth of 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) to Rs 54,100 crore in the July-September quarter of 2023-23 (Q2FY24). Novelis' Flat Rolled Products (FRP) volumes grew 6 per cent Q-o-Q to 933,000 tonnes (down 5.2 per cent Y-o-Y) on better North American and European volumes. The consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) declined 2 per cent Q-o-Q to Rs 5,610 crore despite lower input costs in India and better Novelis performance.
Arguably the 'most talked about' rescue mission in recent years, the story of a Thai youth soccer team and their coach trapped in the Tham Luang Cave, prompting a global rescue effort, gripped the world.
The statement comes in the wake of reports that warned of power crisis looming large due to the coal shortage in the country.
Though the current National Democratic Alliance government has not endorsed the figure, it has not even repudiated it.
With the Supreme Court (SC) cancelling captive coal block allocations, Jindal Steel & Power Limited will be the worst-affected company.
Conflicting views on Coal India (CIL) might leave investors confused. The bullish perspective that India has strong power demand (and also high steel production) means high demand for coal. As CIL is the monopoly producer of coal -- supplying over 80 per cent of the domestic requirement - the public sector undertaking should be a beneficiary of the rising power demand.
Reliance Power has terminated its mega power project in Jharkhand over inordinate delays in land acquisition.
The Supreme Court judgement will hopefully ensure that those in power and authority will hesitate before allotting precious natural resources that belong to each and every citizen of the country in an arbitrary and corrupt manner, says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
A change in recommendation in favour of Birla did certainly happen but the question is whether it was a bona fide decision. Jyoti Mukul reports
Analysts believe total cost of production at Rs 1,000/tonne reasonable for power firms.
Currently, 23 power units with a cumulative capacity of 30,000 MW have super critical coal stock situation A lack of synchronised approach between the concerned ministries and power plants, has led to this crisis, says Shreya Jai.
The hike in clean energy cess is likely to impact input cost for thermal power producers
Power stations with captive mines might look at this as an opportunity to sell merchant power at higher rates.
The mines ministry has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in bailing out aluminium giant Nalco of the acute paucity of coal, which has forced the PSU to close down two of its captive power plants.
The shift to gross calorific value-based grading of coal aligned domestic prices with international benchmarks.
Almost all major metal and mining firms would be affected by the Supreme Court ruling canceling 214 coal blocks, but Naveen Jindal's JSPL and Aditya Birla Group's Hindalco would be among the worst hit, analysts said.
Tata Steel is in the process of filing a curative petition in the Supreme Court in connection with the apex court ruling which said that states have the power to levy cess on mining and mineral-use activities. The petition by the steel manufacturing firm is aimed at seeking remedy to the order, passed by a 9-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on July 25. However, Tata Steel's managing director and chief executive officer T V Narendran told Business Standard that there was no demand note on the firm.
There was a sharp fall in power output on Thursday from a plant in Gujarat that left India more than 9,000 megawatts short of peak demand, according to two officials at the state grid operator.
The archaic process of awarding coal blocks on a first-come-first-serve basis may soon be replaced by a more efficient and transparent competitive bidding process.
Those for power sector to see tussle between prior owners & new challengers
Hindalco's India business, including Utkal Alumina, reported good results for the January-March quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) and consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) also rose. Earnings growth was driven by favourable pricing, lower input costs and lower tax outgo for Novelis.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is to be congratulated for imposing a large fine, of nearly Rs 1,800 crore (Rs 18 billion), on Coal India Ltd for alleged abuse of its monopolistic position.
The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has given environment clearance to five projects since it took charge on May 26.
Jindal Steel has acquired mining rights in Chile for $52 million.
