Benefits of Underground Mining in India

Source: This post on Underground Mining has been created based on the article “The safe bet of underground mining” published in “Business Standard” on 12^th December 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3 Environment – Conservation, Environmental pollution and degradation.

News: The article discusses the importance of coal for India’s energy needs. It discusses the advantages of Underground Mining as a solution for making coal mining environment-friendly.

What is the status of Renewable Energy (RE) production in India with respect to Coal?

Despite India having the fastest RE capacity growth among major economies of the world, RE generation represents only 13.36% of the country’s total generation.

Coal-based generation is 5.24 times RE production.

As renewable energy (RE) is anticipated to grow, the total energy demand is also on the rise. Consequently, although the proportion of coal in the energy mix will decrease, the actual amount of coal needed will still increase.

India’s Energy Mix:

Source: Economic Times.

Since cutting down coal’s use drastically may hamper the country’s energy sector, India should explore the mining of coal in an environment-friendly manner to meet its climate commitments. In this, Underground (UG) Mining can play an important role.

What is UG Mining?

Underground mining is used to extract ore from below the surface of the earth safely, economically and with as little waste as possible. The entry from the surface to an underground mine may be through a horizontal or vertical tunnel, known as a shaft or decline.

Open Cast and Underground Mine. Source: Britannica.

What are the benefits of UG Mining?

1. Environmentally Cleaner:
   a. Forest cover is not required to be displaced.
   b. Prevents land degradation. Leaves the fertile topsoil intact.
   c. Much smaller pollution load compared to Open-cast mine. This is because around half of the total pollution load in OC mines is due to overburden removal and associated steps, which is not applicable in UG mines.
   d. It has no impact on water pollution.
   e. Ambient noise levels are significantly lower.
2. Society-friendly:
   a. It does not dislocate people, necessitating rehabilitation and resettlement.
   b. Traditional livelihoods are not lost.
   c. Agricultural land is left undisturbed.
3. Better Quality Fuel:
   UG coal is qualitatively superior and helps reduce imports of higher grades of coal.

What factors can help UG mining to grow in India?

Indian coal extraction is predominantly Open-Cast. In 2022, of the total coal produced world over, UG accounted for around 55%. India’s UG output was just 4%. Coal India has drawn up an aspirational plan to quadruple its UG production to 100 MTs by FY 2030.

UG Mining can succeed in India due to the following factors:

1. Better Human resources: Well-trained skilled operators, outsourcing to contractors, efficient mine developers and operators, etc.
2. Availability of Mass Production technologies: This includes operationally flexible continuous miners (a machine that cuts and loads coal in one continuous operation) suitable for Indian coal seams, the punch entry method for extraction of UG coal at low cost through existing infrastructure, deployment of high wall machines that bypass land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement issues, and the use of paste fill technology.

In the current geopolitical landscape, achieving self-sufficiency in energy security is crucial for development. Coal has the potential to provide the highest indigenous resource base among the energy sources. Underground mining can balance these – India’s climate change commitments as well as energy security.

Question for practice:

What is Underground Mining? How can it offer a viable alternative to Open-Cast mining in India’s endeavour to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, while meeting its energy needs?