Chhattisgarh: South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a Coal India subsidiary, has signed a Rs 7,040 crore agreement with TMC Mineral Resources Pvt Ltd to implement paste filling technology at the Singhali underground mine in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district.
This marks the first deployment of paste fill technology by a coal public sector undertaking in India, enabling mining in areas where traditional methods are not feasible due to surface constraints.
A Shift Towards Sustainable Underground Mining
The Singhali underground mine, operational since 1993 and developed using the Bord and Pillar method, lies beneath densely populated regions and critical infrastructure, including villages, high-tension power lines, and public roads. These conditions have long posed safety and environmental challenges for conventional caving-based coal extraction.
Paste filling presents a technical alternative. This method involves filling mined-out voids with a paste mixture made of fly ash, crushed overburden, cement, and binding agents, which helps prevent surface subsidence. It also allows mining to continue without disturbing surface structures — a crucial factor in the case of Singhali.
Production Targets and Project Scope
Under the 25-year agreement, SECL aims to extract approximately 8.4 million tonnes of non-coking coal from Singhali, which currently holds an estimated 8.45 million tonnes in extractable reserves. The deployment of paste filling technology is expected to support continuous operations in the mine, which was originally approved in 1989 for a production capacity of 0.24 million tonnes per annum.
