Coal India finalises vendor for dumpers

Public sector mining major Coal India Ltd (CIL) signed a Rs 2,900 core procurement pact with Belaz, a Belarus based mining equipment manufacturer, to purchase 96 dumpers of 240 tonne capacity each. In August 2020, CIL had given its nod for the procurement of these dumpers. CIL will fund the entire Rs 2,900 crore investment through its own finances and includes the cost of equipment along with the consumables and spares for eight years. For CIL, whose 95% of the entire coal output is through open-cast (OC) mines, dumpers of such high capacity will play a key role in ferrying over burden (OB) from mine working areas to dump yards. OB is the extraneous material that overlays the coal seam, removal of which facilitates easier dry fuel production. 4th Indian Cement Review Conference 202117-18 March Click for event infoMake in Steel 202124 February Click for event infoThe 96 dumpers lot would be deployed in two of the large open-cast mines of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), the highest coal producing subsidiary of CIL, namely Kusmunda and Gevra. While 84 machines will operate in Gevra, the rest 12 would be pressed into action in Kusmunda. The first lot of six dumpers would operate in the Gevra OC expansion project within eight months from the contract's signing. After that, on CIL's nod, as per their performance, after one year from the date of their commissioning, the rest 90 would follow at four machines per month. CIL also said 66 similar capacity machines are already operational in SECL, and once the 96 are added to the existing fleet, their total dumper count will be 162. This is the second contract that CIL has signed with Belaz. Earlier it had purchased 77 dumpers of 150-tonne capacity from the company through a global bidding. Image Source