All set for feasibility study at Dighipara coal mine

Barapukaria Coal Mine Company (BCMCL) is finally set to conduct a feasibility study at Dighipara Coal Mine in Dinajpur to unearth ways to extract an estimated 4 million ton coal from the mine. BCMCL Managing Director Md Aminuzzaman confirmed to The Independent that they are ready to begin the feasibility study over a 24 square kilometre area of the coal mine. “The company has already prepared a proposal to conduct the study,” he said, and added that they will move ahead as soon as they get approval from Bureau of Mineral Development (BMD) of the Energy Ministry. BCMCL will conduct the feasibility study which aims to feed upcoming coal-fired power projects capable of generating a staggering 20,000MW of power by 2030, depending on local and imported coal.
It may be noted that Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) had recently instructed Dighipara Coal Mine to handover the exploration license to BCMCL with a view to meeting future coal demand for electricity generation.
In 2012, state-owned oil and gas exploration company Petrobangla had in principle agreed to handover Dighipara Coal Mine to BCMCL but the process got stuck in red tape. According to EMRD sources, the process of handing over Dighipara to BCMCL gained momentum onSeptember 7 this year when EMRD issued a directive to BMD to give BCMCL the exploration license. Dighipara is one of the five coal zones in Bangladesh where geologists, in 1995, had confirmed probable reserves of nearly 600 million ton of high-grade bituminous coal.
According to information provided by Petrobangla, the Dighipara Coal Mine has seven layers, each 72 metre thick, while the depth of the pit is 328 to 407 metre. According to sources, nearly 10,000 ton coal will be extracted daily from the mine by using underground mining methods. Earlier, a South Korean consortium had evinced interest in developing Dighipara and setting up a mega coal-fired power plant through a joint venture in the northern part of the country. The consortium comprised Korean Resources Corporation (KORES), Korea Western Power (KOWEPO), Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO), and Luxon Global. Recently, KORES Chief Executive Officer Shin-Jong Kim, on behalf of the consortium, had sent a letter to the Prime Minister.

 

All set for feasibility study at Dighipara coal mine

Barapukaria Coal Mine Company (BCMCL) is finally set to conduct a feasibility study at Dighipara Coal Mine in Dinajpur to unearth ways to extract an estimated 4 million ton coal from the mine. BCMCL Managing Director Md Aminuzzaman confirmed to The Independent that they are ready to begin the feasibility study over a 24 square kilometre area of the coal mine. The company has already prepared a proposal to conduct the study, he said, and added that they will move ahead as soon as they get approval from Bureau of Mineral Development (BMD) of the Energy Ministry. BCMCL will conduct the feasibility study which aims to feed upcoming coal-fired power projects capable of generating a staggering 20,000MW of power by 2030, depending on local and imported coal. It may be noted that Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) had recently instructed Dighipara Coal Mine to handover the exploration license to BCMCL with a view to meeting future coal demand for electricity generation. In 2012, state-owned oil and gas exploration company Petrobangla had in principle agreed to handover Dighipara Coal Mine to BCMCL but the process got stuck in red tape. According to EMRD sources, the process of handing over Dighipara to BCMCL gained momentum onSeptember 7 this year when EMRD issued a directive to BMD to give BCMCL the exploration license. Dighipara is one of the five coal zones in Bangladesh where geologists, in 1995, had confirmed probable reserves of nearly 600 million ton of high-grade bituminous coal. According to information provided by Petrobangla, the Dighipara Coal Mine has seven layers, each 72 metre thick, while the depth of the pit is 328 to 407 metre. According to sources, nearly 10,000 ton coal will be extracted daily from the mine by using underground mining methods. Earlier, a South Korean consortium had evinced interest in developing Dighipara and setting up a mega coal-fired power plant through a joint venture in the northern part of the country. The consortium comprised Korean Resources Corporation (KORES), Korea Western Power (KOWEPO), Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO), and Luxon Global. Recently, KORES Chief Executive Officer Shin-Jong Kim, on behalf of the consortium, had sent a letter to the Prime Minister.