Dhuptala open cast mine

This article is part of the CoalSwarm coverage of India and coal.

Proposed coal plants Existing coal plants Proposed coal mines Existing coal mines State-by-state coal profiles Coal terminals Ultra Mega Power Projects Power companies Mining companies Coal India Indian company investments in overseas coal mines Opposition to coal in India Troubled Indian Coal Plant Construction Sites

Dhuptala Opencast mine is conversion of existing Sasti Rao (underground) coal mine to 1.7 MTPA capacity Open Cast mine in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, Dhuptala Geological Block, India. [1]

Location

The map below shows the location of the mines, near Ballarpur village, Ballarpur tehsil, Chandrapur district, Maharashtra, India.

Loading map...

{"type":"HYBRID","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"600px","height":"500px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"visitedicon":"","wmsoverlay":false,"zoom":14,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"cluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":19.8226544,"lon":79.3375969,"icon":""}]}

Background on Mine

The Dhuptala Opencast mine is a 1.7 Million ton per annum capacity mine located in Ballarpur village, Ballarpur tehsil in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. It is owned by Western Coalfields Limited (a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India). The main reason for conversion to open cast mine was the rising demand of thermal power plants of MSEB. The main consumer of coal from this mine is MAHAGENCO. The land is an already operational underground mine (Sasti underground mine) which was later converted to an open cast or surface mine. The type of Sasti mine was Bord and Pillar mine, and there was coal blocked in the pillars of the underground mine. Converting to open cast mine allowed access to this blocked coal mine. The mine is near the Wardha River, which starts in Khairwani village and later merges with Wainganga river.

Threats to Wildlife

The proposed mining area falls in the wildlife corridor between Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Painganga Wildlife Sanctuary, Chaprala Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra and Kawal Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. In the notification issued by Government of Andhra Pradesh dated 10th April 2012 it was stated, ‘The main objective for the declaration of Kawal Tiger Reserve is "To protect, restore, manage and maintain representative biodiversity of Deccan plateau of Sahyadri Mountain Ranges along with ecological processes and conservation of wild genepool with focus on Tiger and to accommodate the viable spill over population by restoring the corridor with Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve and protect and manage the catchment of Godavari River." The proposed expansion of coal will further disturb the already fragmented corridor area, thereby impacting the movements of wildlife.[2]

Threats to Ecology

The mine is near the Wardha River and leads to pollution of the River as well as the siltation of the River due to Coal dust and particulate matter pollution from mining activities.

Conditions Stipulated by the Ministry of Environment and Forest(MoEF)

While granting Environmental Clearance to the project proponent, MoEF stipulated certain conditions to minimize the impact on River pollution. Like 1. creation of embankment along the river boudnary and critical patches, 2. plantation to stabilize and withstand peak flow of water, and 3. creation of catch drains, and siltation ponds to arrest stilt and sedimentation from flowing into the river.

Mine Details

• Sponsor: Western Coalfields Limited
• Parent company: Coal India Limited
• Location: Ballarpur village, Ballarpur Tehsil, Chandrapur District, Maharashtra state, India
• Coordinates: 19.8226544,79.3375969
• Status: Operating
• Capacity: 1.7 MTPA (Total Resource 54.60 MTPA)
• Mine Size: 1300.91 Ha (385.68 Ha for excavation)
• Start Year: 1916 (Sasti Underground Mine)
• Mining method: Surface

Articles and resources

Related GEM.wiki articles

• India and coal

External Articles

• Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) and Environmental Management Plan(EMP) for proposed mine[3]
• EC granted for Conversion of Sasti UG Mine to Dhuptala OC Mine dated 10.01.2013[4]
• Kawal Tiger Reserve Notification dated 10.04.2012[5]