Chhal Coal Mine

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Chhal Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Lat, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Chhal Coal Mine Lat, Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, India 22.100202, 83.110483 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status Status Detail Opening Year Closing Year
Operating

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.
Capacity (Mtpa) Production (Mtpa) Year of Production Mine Type Mining Method Mine Size (km2) Mine Depth (m) Workforce Size
3[1] 3.85[2] 2022[2] Surface Open Pit 6.41 50* 708*

Table 4: Coal resources and destination

Total Reserves (Mt) Year of Total Reserves Recorded Total Resources (Mt) Coalfield Coal Type Coal Grade Primary Consumer/ Destination
146 Mand-Raigarh Subbituminous Thermal

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner Parent Company Headquarters
South Eastern Coalfields Ltd Coal India Ltd [100.0%] India

Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)

ROM or Saleable 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
ROM 3[3] 1[3] 1[3] 3[4] 2[5] 3[5] 6[6]


Expansion/Extension

Table 6: Project status

* Added capacity of a coal mine refers to the enhancement in the mine's production capabilities beyond its initial production capacity.
Status Status Detail Project Type Project Phase Added Capacity (Mtpa)* Start Year
Proposed[1] Permitted[1] Expansion[1] 2[1]

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker April 2024 release and the September supplement.

Background on Mine

The mine, also known as the Chhal Opencast Coal Mine Project, has a capacity od 3.5 million tonnes per year. It is located on a mining lease area of 641.013 ha. The mine is operated by South Eastern Coalfields Limited.

The project secured its environment clearance for expansion from 1 MTPA to 3.5 MTPA on 27 April 2010.[7]

The project proposed another expansion of coal mining from 3.5 MTPA to 6 MTPA and increase of mine lease area from 641.013 ha to 1342.86 ha. The EC has been issued in 2022. [8]

Opposition

About 400 Adivasi families once lived near the Chaal coal mine but were forced out by blasting and water contamination. [9]

The Chhal Coal mine also falls within an Elephant Corridor. People residing around the mining area fear that there will be an increase in Human-Elephant Conflict in the region. The latest in the series of events that has led to their problem is the upcoming rail corridor that cuts through the elephant territory. The project is being executed in a belt that is endowed with rich coal deposits. The Chhattisgarh government is developing a 180-km-long east rail corridor on the Kharsia-Chhal-Gharghoda-Korichhapar-Dharamjaigarh-Korba route. The project is part of two rail corridors that would be coming up in the state. The other, east-west rail corridor, will connect the Gevra and Pendra roads. [10]

Adivasis in Kunkuni allege more than 300 acres of their lands were transferred to a Bilaspur-based real estate firm, Saptarishi Infra Tech Estate, by forgery between 2009 and 2015. Villagers claim Saptarishi Infra bought large swaths of lands to sell to the mining companies in the vicinity. A unit of Vedanta Washery and Logistics Solutions Private Limited is being set up in Kunkuni (no relation to Vedanta Resources), while the coal mines of Chhal and Baraud lie within a 15-km radius of the village. [11]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240718165700/https://www.secl-cil.in/writereaddata/EC%2520for%2520expansion%2520of%2520Chhal%2520Opencast%2520Coal%2520Mining%2520from%25203.5%2520MTPA%2520to%25206%2520MTPA%2520Letter%2520no%25201535.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240129173121/https://coal.nic.in/sites/default/files/2023-05/23-05-2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 (PDF) https://www.secl-cil.in/writereaddata/EA2019-20CHHALOC_RAIGARHAREA.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. (PDF) https://coal.nic.in/sites/default/files/2022-05/srn-march-2022.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 (PDF) https://coal.nic.in/sites/default/files/2023-05/srn-march-2023_0.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240613224926/https://coal.nic.in/sites/default/files/2024-05/srn-march-2024.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. Environment Clearance for Expansion of Chhal opencast Coalmine Project, MoEF&CC India, 27 April 2010
  8. "EC for expansion of Chhal Opencast Coal Mining from 3.5 MTPA to 6 MTPA Letter" SECL, August 2022
  9. The mine that displaced India's indigenous people, Aljazeera.com, 07 July 2016
  10. Chhattisgarh's elephantine problem, Business-standard article, 24 September 2016
  11. Illegal transfers: Adivasis in Chhattisgarh plan to criminally prosecute firms that hold their land, Scroll.in article, 17 July 2017