In a presentation to the union steel ministry, manganese ore producer MOIL said it would foray into coal mining and power generation if it secures coal blocks from the government.

The company plans to enter into coal mining and power generation in order to support its down stream diversification for ferro alloy production. This will further enhance the business prospects of MOIL.

MOIL has applied for eight coal blocks out of the 17 blocks, which the government is in the process of auctioning to public sector undertakings (PSUs).

These 17 coal blocks are located in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. MOIL has already entered into separate joint ventures with SAIL and RINL for setting up ferro alloy plants aimed at manufacturing ferro manganese and silico manganese at a total cost of Rs 600 crore.

By 2020-21, MOIL aims to raise its manganese ore output to 2.2 million tonne from 1.1 mn tpa now. In order to achieve the target, the company has taken up sinking of vertical shafts in replacement of incline mining at Munsar and Ukwa mines.