Coal India to expand abroad with Rs30,000 crore war chest

New Delhi: The world's largest coal mining company, state-owned Coal India Limited (CIL), armed with Rs30,000 crore in cash reserves, is looking to expand overseas by forging partnerships with global mining giants like BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Anglo American after having floated an expression of interest (EoI).

The country's largest coal producer is also looking to mine coal in joint ventures through Coal India and not its overseas arm Coal Videsh in countries like Australia and the US for coking coal and South Africa and Indonesia for thermal coal, said CIL chairman Partha Bhattacharya to reporters here.

He said that CIL, with Rs30,000 cash reserves, has floated a global expression of interest for a strategic partnership with global mining firms like Anglo Australian miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto as well as London-based diversified miner Anglo American.

The gap between coal demand on Coal India and envisaged domestic coal supply potential in 2011-12 is in excess of 200 million tonnes, CIL said in the expression of interest document sent to Australia.

CIL plans to have equity stakes in the operating mines of these companies, but is not averse to other proposals on partnerships and is waiting for the global giants to respond to its EoI.

CIL, along with other public sector bodies like Steel Authority of India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, National Mineral Development Corp had set up a special purpose vehicle for taking up mining exploration in Africa and other regions.