The Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) will invest Rs 670 crore in FY23. It looks to invest Rs 200 crore towards setting up beneficiation plants, with the remaining being land acquisition costs (including compensation) for new and old mining projects.
The company, listed on the bourses, is also planning to bid for upcoming coal block auctions outside its home state. The RFD for nearly 109 coal blocks is on the cards, and GMDC is “actively interested” in some of these.
Lignite called brown coal is a combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content of around 25–35% and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat content.
According to Roopwant Singh, Managing Director, GMDC, around Rs 270 crore will be the land acquisition cost for new mining projects, while another Rs 200 crore will be for existing or ongoing ones.
The miner, he said, is also in the process of setting up a Fluorspar Beneficiation plant at Kadipani, (a JV with Gujarat Fluorochemicals and Navin Fluorine International ) having a capacity will be 40,000 tonnes per annum.
Two bauxite beneficiation plants are expected, too, with an investment between Rs 15 crore and Rs 45 crore.
Coal beneficiation plants are expected to come up in Bhavnagar and Kutch of Gujarat, each with an expected investment of RS 25–30 crore; and a “capacity of few lakh tonnes per annum”.