NMDC will begin commercial thermal coal production between October and December and aims to sell about 1 million tonnes of the fuel in FY27, Chairman Amitava Mukherjee said in an interview reported by PTI.
The state-owned mining company has reached the coal seam at its Tokisud North coal mine in Jharkhand, allowing production to begin in the next quarter, Mukherjee said. The development marks NMDC’s first commercial move into thermal coal as it seeks to diversify beyond its core iron ore business.
“Right now, we are 99.9 per cent an iron ore company. We aim to help the growing industries in the country with maximum of their mineral needs,” Mukherjee said, according to the report.
Tokisud North was awarded to NMDC in an auction conducted by the Ministry of Coal. The mine has reserves of 52 million tonnes and an annual peak rated capacity of 2.3 million tonnes, the company chairman said. Thermal coal is primarily used for power generation.
NMDC will also begin developing the Rohne coking coal block in Jharkhand during FY27, with production targeted as early as FY28. The block has reserves of 191 million tonnes and a peak rated capacity of 8 million tonnes, according to Mukherjee.
Coking coal is used as a raw material in steel manufacturing. The planned expansion would give NMDC a presence in two coal segments alongside its established iron ore operations, although the company has not disclosed additional details on buyers, mine development expenditure or the expected production ramp-up.
Mukherjee said NMDC had prepared a roadmap through 2030 to diversify its mining operations in support of the government’s Viksit Bharat vision. He said his objective was to make NMDC India’s largest mineral mining company and that the company would continue to look for opportunities involving additional minerals in India and overseas.
The chairman said he wanted at least 20 per cent of NMDC’s revenue to come from minerals other than iron ore by 2030. The company currently derives almost all of its business from iron ore, making the coal projects a part of its longer-term diversification plan.
NMDC is India’s largest iron ore mining company and operates four major mechanised mining complexes in Chhattisgarh’s Bailadila sector and Karnataka’s Donimalai sector. The company supplies about 20 per cent of India’s iron ore requirement, according to the report.
The company reported total revenue of Rs 31,554 crore in FY26, up 33 per cent from Rs 23,668 crore in FY25. It produced a record 53 million tonnes of iron ore in FY26, compared with 44 million tonnes in FY25, and remains on track to pursue its target of producing 100 million tonnes annually by 2030, Mukherjee said.
NMDC’s immediate milestones are the start of commercial production at Tokisud North in the October-December quarter and the development of the Rohne coking coal block during FY27.