Coal ministry awards three blocks in latest commercial auction

The Ministry of Coal has closed the 13th round of commercial coal mine auctions and awarded three blocks to Damodar Valley Corporation. The mines have a combined peak rated capacity of 49 MTPA.

The auction process started on August 21, 2025. Forward e-auctions were held from November 20 to November 25. All three blocks offered in this round are fully explored and together hold about 3,306 million tonnes of geological reserves.

Pirpainti Barahat and Dhulia North in Jharkhand contain non-coking coal. Both were won with final offers of 5.50 per cent above the reserve price. Mandakini B in Odisha, also non-coking, received a final offer of 12.75 per cent. Takua did not receive any bids.

The Ministry expects these three blocks to generate about Rs 4,620 crore each year and draw capital investment of nearly Rs 7,350 crore. The projects are expected to create more than 66,000 jobs. Since the launch of commercial coal mining in 2020, 136 blocks have been auctioned. Once all awarded mines reach full operations, they are projected to produce 325 MTPA and generate about Rs 43,330 crore annually, supporting 4,39,447 employment opportunities.