Ministry of Coal Successfully Launches 16th Round of Commercial Coal Mine Auctions
17th September 2026
The Ministry of Coal has successfully launched the 16th Round of Commercial Coal Mine Auctions on September 17, 2026. On the occasion, Coal Mine Development and Production Agreements (CMDPAs) were handed over to the successful bidders of six coal mines auctioned in earlier rounds
The CMDPAs were executed for Tara (Revised), Margo West, Margo East, Mandla South, Dongeri Tal-II and Dip Side of PKoC. The successful bidders include CG Syn-Gas & Chemicals Ltd., Jharkhand Exploration & Mining Corporation Limited, Qube Commercial Pvt. Ltd., Gallant Ispat Ltd. and The Singareni Collieries Limited
The six mines together have geological reserves of approximately 1,504 million tonnes and a combined Peak Rated Capacity of 11.62 MTPA. Once operational, they are expected to generate annual revenue of around Rs 1,984 crore, attract capital investment of nearly Rs 1,743 crore and create approximately 15,700 employment opportunities in the respective coal-bearing regions
The 16th round offers 25 coal blocks, comprising 21 fully explored and four partially explored mines, across nine coal-bearing states—Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal
Of these, six coal mines are offered under the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act (CMSP) and 19 under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR)
The blocks are open to experienced mining companies, new entrants and technology-driven enterprises under the liberal commercial coal mining framework, which provides for no end-use restrictions, 100% FDI through the automatic route and low upfront payments adjustable against future revenue share
With the launch of this round, the commercial coal mining programme has now completed sixteen rounds since the sector was opened to commercial mining in 2020. A total of 147 coal mines have been auctioned to date, with cumulative expected annual revenue of over ₹47,500 crore and projected capital investment of more than Rs 55,000 crore across nine coal-bearing states