IN the second round of auction for commercial mining, majors such as Vedanta Ltd, Hindalco Industries, Adani Power Maharashtra and Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd (Balco) are among the 20 companies that have submitted bids for 19 coal mines.
In total, the government received 34 bids, a statement from the coal ministry said.
Highest number of bids (four each) were submitted by Sunflag Iron & Steel Company and Aurbindo Realty.
Three bids each were submitted by Shree Satya Mines Pvt Ltd and South West Pinnacle Exploration Ltd, two each were from Adhunik Power & Natural Resources Ltd, CG Natural Resources Pvt Ltd and Jhar Mineral Resources Pvt Ltd.
Vedanta, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd and Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd submitted one bid each.
Of the 19 coal mines put up for auction, 10 are fully explored mines and nine are partially explored. Four of these are coking coal mines while the remaining 15 are of non-coking coal.
The technically qualified bidders would be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction to be conducted on Metal Scrap Trade Corporation (MSTC) portal, the statement said.
On March 25, the auction process of 67 coal mines was initiated by the ministry of coal.
The 67 mines offered are a mix of small and large reserves spread across six states -- Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
This is the highest number of mines on offer in a particular tranche after commencement of the auction regime in 2014.
The total number of mines successfully auctioned in the first tranche of auction for commercial mining was 20 out of the total 38 offered, the coal ministry had earlier said.
