May 27:
The Ministry of Coal organized the National Mineral Congress in Bhubaneswar today with the support of the Power Ministry, Steel Ministry, and Mines Ministry. Addressing the Congress through virtual mode, Shri Anil Kumar Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, wished all success to the National Mineral Congress and hoped to get a valuable outcome through the deliberations of the stakeholders.
Addressing the National Mineral Congress as the Chief Guest, Shri VK Tiwari, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, said that the Ministry has prepared a National Mission document to achieve 100 MT Coal Gasification by 2030. “Coal gasification is the future. It is considered a cleaner option compared to the burning of coal. Gasification facilitates utilization of the chemical properties of coal,” he said.
Shri Tiwari said that technological advancements are offering greater coal recovery, flexibility in mining operations, increased productivity, greater safety, and lowering cost. “Companies need to adopt new technologies and build digital infrastructure to support the current and future requirements. There is a need to ensure optimal use of technology in the sector,” the additional secretary said.
Talking about challenges in the aluminum sector, Shri Tiwari said that India is blessed with huge bauxite resources about 3,896 million tonnes to meet its future need however he added that India’s reserve constitutes only 17 percent of its resources, which is about 656 million tonnes. “There is a need to convert those resources into proven reserves to boost bauxite production. We also need to come up with plans to use scrap to make quality products,” he said.
The additional secretary talked about the roadmap from coal to hydrogen and said that India’s hydrogen demand is likely to increase to 11.7 million tonnes by 2030 from 6.7 million tonnes per year as of now. “Refineries and fertilizer plants are the largest consumers of hydrogen now, which is being produced from natural gas. It can be produced through coal in the processes during coal gasification,” he added.
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Shri Tiwari said that Conferences like this provide an opportunity to brainstorm and improve across the sectors. “We have started commercialization of the sector, which is showing results. Double approval has been removed; the process of mine allocation made online and gasification has been incentivized. We are taking steps to support the sector from all around,” he said.
The National Mineral Congress being organized by the Indian National Committee of World Mining Congress today saw the participation of industry experts from 20 prominent companies. The discussion was held on challenges in the aluminum and steel sector, coal gasification, and the road map for carbon to hydrogen. On Saturday, the delegates will be visiting the Coal Gasification Plant of JSPL in Angul.
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