Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 13 (ANI): With the employment of state-of-the-art technologies, underground mining is going to be the future of coal mining in the country as the method causes less degradation to the environment.

Realising the potential and benefits of underground mining, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, is focusing on underground mining by using modern and safe technologies.

'Be it in SECL or the entire coal industry, underground mining is considered an environment-friendly mining method. With the use of state-of-the-art technology, mass production technology and continuous miners, the production increases in an environment-friendly manner by simultaneously ensuring safety,' said SECL Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) Harish Duhan.

As compared to open-cast mining, the underground method is safe and environmentally friendly due to the technology available to us, Duhan added.

When asked if underground mining is going to be the future of mining in the country, the CMD said that mining in India started with underground mining. Due to available reserves and increasing demand, open-cast mining opted to increase production. As per the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in COP-26) to become net zero by 2070, the company is extensively working in this direction, and the stress is again on moving back to underground mining.

'We have identified 56 projects wherein mass production technology will be employed in underground mining and the production capacity (referring to underground mining) will be increased to more than double by 2030,' said Duhan, elaborating that according to the vision of Coal India, the company will ensure 25 percent production of coal through underground mining by 2030.

'With the employment of technological advancement, the company managed to prevent mishaps during mining activities, be it underground or open cast,' Duhan added.

'Since we are engaged in underground mining, surface degradation is very little,' said Area General Manager (AGM) of SECL Baikunthpur area Bidya Nath Jha.

'Although the company is not doing surface degradation, SECL carries out plantation drives on the surface area of underground mining to maintain ecological balance,' Jha added.

The AGM further explained that keeping ecological imbalance in mind, underground mining is the future because the coal reserve on the upper surface of India, which is 350 billion tons, is upto a depth of 1200 meters. As per the exploration, underground mining with the employment of modern technologies is the only option. As per the availability in the future, Artificial Intelligence and robotics will also be applied in underground mining, and the future of underground mining is very bright.

'Our entire team is engaged in mission and vision underground so that ecological disturbance could be reduced,' Jha said.

Speaking about the safety measures being followed in underground mining, Jha said that with the advancement of technologies, the rate of mishaps decreased significantly as compared to pre- and post-nationalisation. Churcha mines are the deepest mines of India, ranging from 150 meters to 450 meters.

' From the past to the present, innovative ideas are being used in these mines. These mines have been operational since 1962. Trained supervisors, safety officers, internal safety organisations, and others closely monitor compliance with safety protocols to prevent any mishap. Moreover, we comply with the hundred per cent guidelines of the Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS). Moreover, the team also follows standard operating procedures as well as the code of practice during work. Multiple safety committees ensure inspection and compliance on a regular basis,' he said.

'Earlier, loading was carried out manually and blasting techniques were used, but now, we are using green mining technologies for mining, loading and transportation,' Jha added.

Shedding details about the safety protocols being followed in Churcha mines, Safety Officer Churcha Mines M R Mandavi said that roof bolts are being used for support purposes and to ensure strata monitoring through systems available with us. With the use of technological advancements, accidents declined significantly because no workers remain on the face during mining.

'Continuous Miners are equipped with methane sensors and gas detectors along with a tel-monitoring system to detect gases. We have our own communication system to establish contact with each other and pass messages,' Mandavi said. (ANI)