JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, & Adani Natural Resources among 46 firms bidding for 20 coal blocks

JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, Coal India's arm Western Coalfields, Adani Natural Resources, and Damodar Valley Corporation are among the 46 companies that have bid for 20 coal blocks of the 27 offered under the 11th round of auctions for commercial mining.

The companies submitted a total of 70 bids, according to the coal ministry, indicating some of them bid for multiple blocks.

The blocks on offer were for non-coking coal, except one, which was for coking coal. "This round received unprecedented responses from the bidders," the ministry's statement said.

More than 15 new companies, including a Coal India subsidiary, have participated for the first time under commercial coal mine auction, it added.

Some other companies that submitted their bids are Bharat Aluminium Company, The Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation, Orissa Metaliks, Lloyds Metal and Odisha Coal and Power.

The bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary technical evaluation committee and technically qualified bidders will be shortlisted for participation in the electronic auction, to be conducted on MSTC portal.