Coal India (CIL) Chairman Pramod Agrawal laid the foundation stone of Mahanadi Coalfields’ Rs 285.05 crore first-mile connectivity (FMC) project of Lajkura SILO at Ib Valley area in Jharsuguda district of Odisha.
The project will add 15 million tpa dispatch capacity to Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL). The Chairman also commissioned four 100-tonne dumpers and one mobile water sprinkler at Samleshwari OCP.
He inaugurated the new remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) at MCL and inspected mining operations at Lingaraj OCP and Bhubaneswari OCP in Talcher coalfields.
Designed by MCL’s Innovation Cell and the Department of E&T, the portal named Vihangam for remote monitoring was created by a Mumbai-based start-up of drone manufacturing, robotics and automation.
This innovative initiative, which will enable the company to access real-time video through the internet, will pave the way for other allied potential use-cases of drones in mines.
MCL is implementing nine FMC projects to provide a pollution-free state-of-the-art rake loading system at a total capital expenditure of Rs 3,600 crore.
This will also generate a dispatch capacity of 126 million tpa, expected to be achieved by 2024.