On the fourth day of the commercial coal mining auction on Thursday, Fairmine Carbons won a block in Jharkhand, while Chowgule and Company emerged as the highest bidder for a mine in Madhya Pradesh.

Fairmine Carbons emerged as the highest bidder for the Rajhara North (Central and Eastern) block in Jharkhand, as it made a final offer of 23 per cent revenue sharing, the coal ministry said in a statement.

Companies like Adani Enterprises were also vying for the block. With regard to the Sahapur East block, in Madhya Pradesh having geological reserves of 63.36 million tonnes, Chowgule and Company made the final bid offer of 41 per cent revenue sharing.

Firms like JMS Mining Pvt Ltd and Sarda Energy & Minerals Ltd were in the race for the block.

“The e-auction witnessed strong competition among the bidders with both the mines attracting good premiums over the floor price,” the communiqué read.

Two coal mines ‑ one in Madhya Pradesh and one in Jharkhand ‑ were put up for auction on Day 4 of the commercial coal mine auction, the statement said.

The total geological reserves of the mines put up for auction are 83.63 MT with a cumulative peak rated capacity (PRC) of 1.4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

Including today’s two blocks, the government has so far auctioned 15 mines for commercial mining.

Some of the corporate biggies that have bagged blocks so far are Vedanta, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Power, and Aurobindo Reality and Infrastructure.

Four more blocks ‑ Radhikapur (East), Urma Paharitola, Gondulpara, and Gare Palma IV/7 ‑ are yet to be auctioned.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the auction process for 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, a move that opened the coal sector to private players, and termed it a major step in the direction of India achieving self-reliance.