Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman Pramod Agrawal laid the foundation stone of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited’s Rs 285.05 crore first-mile connectivity (FMC) project of Lajkura SILO at Ib valley in Jharsuguda district.
The project would add 15 million tonne per annum dispatch capacity to Mahanadi Coalfields Limited.

The CIL Chairman, who was here on a two-day visit to Ib Valley coalfields of MCL, laid the foundation stone of Lajkura SILO, under IB Valley Area on Wednesday, in the presence of MCL CMD PK Sinha, Director (Tech/Operations) OP Singh, Director (Finance) KR Vasudevan, Director (Personnel) Keshav Rao, Director (Tech/Project & Planning) Baban Singh, according to a press release.

Agrawal inspected mining operations at Lakhanpur OCP (21 MTY), Belpahar OCP (9 MTY), Lajkura OCP (4.5 MTY) and Samleshwari OCP (15 MTY) and interacted with field managers. The chairman also rewarded the best performers in projects as motivation, it said.

The chairman also commissioned four 100-tonne dumpers and one mobile water sprinkler at Samleshwari OCP.

Agrawal visited the under-construction Ib Valley Washery (10 MTY) under Lakhanpur Area and reviewed the progress of work.
He inaugurated the new Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) at MCL and inspected mining operations at Lingaraj OCP and Bhubaneswari OCP in Talcher coalfields.

Designed by the MCL’s Innovation Cell and the Department of E&T, the portal named “Vihangam” for remote monitoring was created by a Mumbai-based start-up of drone manufacturing, robotics, and automation.
This innovative initiative, which will enable the company to access real-time video through the internet and will pave the way for other allied potential use-cases of drones in mines.

Agrawal also chaired a senior officers’ meeting at the MCL headquarters and reviewed the performance of the company.

Carrying forward the vision of sustainable mining, MCL is implementing nine FMC projects to provide a pollution-free state-of-the-art rake loading system at a total capital expenditure of Rs 3,600 crore. This will also generate a dispatch capacity of 126 million tonne per year, expected to be achieved by 2024, it said.

MCL was the first coal company to introduce environment-friendly surface mining technology in 1999. The biggest fleet of 66 surface miners is contributing 95 per cent to the total coal production of the company.