Singareni eyes Bayyaram iron ore, to expand global footprints

Hyderabad: The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has come up with an action plan to expand its mining activities and establish power plants in different parts of the country.

The SingareniCollieries will focus on exploring iron ore in Bayyaram and set up a 1,600 MW power plant in Odisha and a 500 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan as part of its expansion plans. The company has 133 years of experience in mining, and now it has prepared action plans to venture into other sectors. According to official sources, the SCCL is exploring the options of mining in other countries, and soon a delegation of officers will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to explore the possibilities of mineral resources. The organisations working in this sector, like NALCO, HCL, and MECL, would come together and form ‘KhanijVidesh India Limited’ (KVIL) by including some other government sector companies.

Sources also said that the SCCL is planning to set up a 1,600 MW power plant near the Naini coal block in Odisha. The officials said that there was a big requirement for mineral resources like cobalt, copper, lithium, and beryllium in the country, and SCCL wants to venture into the mining of these resources. Similarly, the company was also planning to focus especially on exploring the iron ore in Bayyaram, Khammam.

Sources also said that the company would be setting up power plants at different places. A senior official said that besides the 235 MW power plant, the company would be setting up 1,500 MW of solar power plants at reservoirs and open places in the State. Similarly, the company is coming up with a plan to have a 500 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan, and presently, this project is at the DPR level. The company, for the first time, is examining the proposal to have 100 MW of wind electricity and pumped storage plants.

Meanwhile, in a review meeting organised on Tuesday, the Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that the SCCL should strive to make the company’s future bright for another 200 years by taking up long-term projects. The dedicated work of the officers and staff would help the company grow further. The company should focus on decreasing expenditures because of the fierce competition in the coal mining sector.