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Atma Nirbharata to push global miners to be cost competitive: Adani Natural Resources CEO
Coal Insights Bureau
The recently concluded commercial mine auction would play a key role in changing the dynamics of the global coal mining and trade, believes Vinay Prakash, Director, Adani Enterprises Ltd, CEO-Natural Resources.
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“(Following the success of commercial mine auction) we are going to give a signal to the exporting countries that if they are interested in exporting coal to India, they need to be competitive. Also, any mining company in India and abroad, has to be in a lower cost curve,” Vinay Prakash said.
From being a leading MDO or Mine Developer and Operator, Adani now owns mines following its participation in the just concluded commercial coal mine auction.
Being Atmanirbhar in coal would send the signal that India would not only be selfsufficient but also cost-effective in coal, he said.
Coal imports likely to be 150 mt in FY21
Country’s coal imports are likely to drop to about 150-160 million tons this year from 248 million tons shipped in the previous year, according to Vinay Prakash.
“This year according to my estimates, coal imports would be about 150-160 million tons,” Vinay Prakash said at the inaugural session of the 14th Indian Coal Markets Conference.
Commercial mine auction will not only help state governments get higher revenues but it will give a signal to the exporting countries that they need to be competitive, he said.
For targeting the coastal power plants tuned to imported coal, Coal India need to supply coal with low ash content.
“For this we need to see more focus on washing of coal, more underground coal and also a real revolution in the Railways,” Vinay Prakash said.
Need for competitive Road-Sea-Rail services
The government and the industry also need to see as how the coal which is in the hinterland at the center of the country can be transported in cost competitiveness ways to the coastal areas.
“It is cheaper to bring coal from Indonesia, Australia or South Africa at ocean freight which is far lower than the Railways reaching to the coastal belt in Gujarat, or maybe, through the RSR (Road-Sea-Rail) route to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also,” he said adding that there is now an urgent need to focus on RSR route.
“There was ambitious plan in the past but I think, now has lost some stream and these is a need to make RSR competitive and make coal available to coastal belt based consumers,” Vinay Prakash said.
Being responsible coal users
As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Indian industry needs to be responsible coal users.
We need to see when we can achieve carbon neutrality through a balance between use of coal and use of renewable,” he said.
As for a natural resources company like Adani, it needs to see how it can keep a balance between ecology, environment and economics.
“We need to consider taking local community in confidence by making sure that they are our biggest stakeholders and put a lot of technology initiatives to not only have a safe operation, but also to have least damage to the environment. Let’s not do only on papers or for winning some awards and we need to really showcase this to the nation and to the world,” he said.
While coal is having a bad name globally, it’s up to the stakeholders to see how the image of Indian coal is changed by using, mining it and transporting it responsibly, he said.
