KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – India’s State-controlled coal major Coal India Limited (CIL) is seeking to collaborate with a technological partner following a government directive to complete a long-term hydrological survey across river basins where the miner is planning to implement at least two mining projects.

According to a Coal Ministry official, the government directive came in the wake of CIL’s plan to construct an opencast mine along the Mahan river in the central Indian province of Chhattisgarh.

The official noted that, in the course of reviewing the project, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), operating under the auspices of the Forest and Environment Ministry, felt that CIL needed to conduct long-term hydrological studies across all its existing and future mining projects that were located along rivers or across river basins.

The long-term hydrological studies were necessary not only to protect the Mahan river catchment area but also to protect all other rivers and river basins where mining projects would be considered.

The official added that a single study across potential mining areas countrywide would enable the miner to establish standard procedures for the protection of rivers and river basins.

CIL has also been asked to examine the option of underground mining instead of opencast mining. In the event that the company opted for opencast mining, it was asked to exclude the mining area through which the rivulets passed.

In the case this option was not feasible, owing to technical problems and a substantial loss of coal, CIL was advised to divert the rivulet in a way that the natural contours and hydrological flows were maintained.

CIL, a major supplier of coal to the power sector, is aiming to produce a billion tonnes of coal by 2020, with over half of its incremental production expected to come from greenfield projects.