COKING COAL

NEWS: Government notified Coking Coal as a Critical and Strategic Mineral under MMDR Act, 1957

ABOUT

• Coking coal has been included in Part D of First Schedule of MMDR (Mineral under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)) Act
• Critical and Strategic Minerals: Ensuring mineral security and meeting the requirements of the domestic steel sector
• 95% of the coking coal requirement of steel sector is met through imports
• Facilitate faster approvals, improve ease of doing business, and accelerate exploration and mining activities

Coking Coal

• Raw material in steel production
• ~37.37 billion tonnes of reserves, mainly in Jharkhand, and in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh
• High ash content and surface levels, legacy mine issues like underground fires and land subsidence,
• 100% FDI in commercial coal mining, revenue-sharing auctions, 39 First Mile Connectivity Projects etc.

MMDR Act 1957

• Establishes District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for welfare of people and areas affected by mining
• National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) to give thrust to exploration and curb illegal mining.
• 2023 amendments omitted 6 minerals from list of 12 atomic minerals, empowered central government to exclusively auction mineral concessions for critical minerals and introduced exploration license for deep-seated and critical minerals.