Indian state-run steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is exploring alternative sources for coking coal imports to reduce dependency on shipments from Australia, company chairman Anil Kumar Chowdhary said on Monday, October 5.
The SAIL chairman said that, of the total coking coal imports of 56 million mt by domestic steel industry, as much as 45 million mt are sourced from Australia.
In the case of SAIL, it sourced 1.53 million mt of coking coal from domestic mines in the fiscal year 2019-20 and imported 13.70 million mt, of which the bulk were shipped in from Australia, he said.
“We are looking at developing new global suppliers and vendors for sourcing coking coal in international markets and avoiding dependence on limited sources,” Chowdhary said.
He said that SAIL is part of a joint venture, International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL), which is aiming to acquire coking coal assets overseas. Other government companies like Coal India Limited, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), NMDC Limited and thermal power producer NYTPC Limited are the other partners in ICVL.
Mr. Chowdhary said that ICVL has acquired coal mines in Mozambique with estimated reserves of 500 million mt, with production from the mine being progressively increased.