Almost all of India's coal comes from opencast mines. A look at the numbers behind underground mining, and why mechanisation matters.
India's coal sector is dominated by opencast operations. TerraForge Energy's market analysis of India's underground-mining statistics tracks 449 mines in total, 313 of them operated by Coal India (CIL) and 113 private.
The numbers
- 449 total mines tracked
- 313 operated by Coal India (CIL)
- 113 private mines
- 97% of coal production from opencast mining
- 3% of coal production from underground mining
- 37 mechanised continuous-miner units
Underground mining, reimagined for India
With underground mining contributing only 3% of coal production, mechanisation is the lever for change. Road headers, shuttle cars, roadway vehicles and bolter conveyors from global OEMs, adapted for Indian mines, workforce and operating culture, can make underground mining safe, high-productivity and cost-effective.
That is the vision behind Pinnacle Mining Technology: integrating world-class technologies from global OEMs with local expertise, backed by spares, servicing and engineering support close to the mine.
