News
Monday, February 27, 2012
Thar coal can generate thousands of megawatts of power* ‘Black Gold’ or coal capable of attracting billions of dollars
Staff Report
KARACHI: About 172 million tonnes of ‘black gold’ commonly known as coal or lignite in Sindh could attract billions of dollars investment in the province and make the province an energy corridor that would not only improve the living standards of the people of Tharparkar district, but also change the lives of many countrymen.
The disclosure of Thar coal potential in Sindh’s most remote district has brought the area in limelight and many foreign companies shown keen interest in exploring, extracting and generating electricity from this cheapest natural resource to power starved—Pakistan.
Sindh government to be commended for its continuing efforts for development of Thar Coal, which is continuously pursuing by creating a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode with the Engro Power Gen. The provincial government also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with various investors and is massively funding the experimental technology of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG).
Foreign companies have started arriving and showing interest in the development of Thar Coal Field but these companies must accommodate local communities in the District of Tharparkar in employment opportunities and economic benefits in all upcoming coal related projects.
In second week of February, a second major project initiator, London AIM-listed, Oracle Coalfields PLC announced an investment of $610 million for power generation project at Block-VI of Thar Coalfield and for the development of its 1.4 billion tonnes a flagship resource project in Sindh.
This development has brought encouragement to other foreign companies who were willing to explore avenues for exploring coal and generating power. Oracle Coalfields conducted a comprehensive technical feasibility study during last year and confirmed the technical and economic viability of the project.
Interestingly, the proposed plan that was on paper would be implemented accordingly and will help the Sindh government to initiate others to follow that its (Oracle Coalfields) footsteps.
The company announced its feasibility study for coal mining and power generation project at Block-VI of Thar Coalfield for a five million tonnes per year capacity.
This represents a significant step towards providing the nation, Sindh Province and local communities in Thar fistrict with a new sustainable source of energy for decades.
Initially, the coal production is expected during the year 2014 with mine development and expected to be started by the end of 2012.
The feasibility study results concentrated on an initial mining area within Block-VI of approximately 20-square kilometres (Km2) and reported in accordance with the internationally recognised 2004 Australian JORC Code, a mineral resource of 529 millions of wet tonnes (MWT). Within this overall mining area, Phase-I zone was determined with coal reserves of 113 millions of wet tonnes (MWT).
With further potential increase in reserves in Phase-II of the mining area, the life of mine could be extended to another 30 years or more. This area is less than one-thirds of Block-VI, which in turn is less than one percentage of the Thar Coalfield area.
The company also inked a MoU with the provincial largest power utility, Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to initially generate 300MW mouth-of-the-mine power plant with plan to enhance it up to 1100MW from its allocated Block-VI site.
The company should undertake a comprehensive environmental and social assessment impact in compliance with international standards.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk