Coal Washeries in India
Coal washing is an integral part of coal production. Raw coal coming from mines is washed to remove the ash contents to make them fit for feeding into boilers, particularly those of steel plants. Barring a few instances, a coal washery does not form part of a coal mine in India.
Total installed capacity of washeries in India is around 131.24 million tonne per year (MTY) as on 31.3.2016. A total of 52 washeries, both PSUs and Private, were operating in the country considering both Coking (29.69 MTY) and Non-Coking Coal (101.55 MTY).
Non Coking Coal Washeries
4 non-coking washeries with the total capacity of 16.22 MTY in Coal India Limited (CIL) and 18 non-coking washeries with the total capacity of 100.47 MTY in Private Sector were functioning during FY 2018-19. Non coking coal washeries in the private sector are mainly utilized by the consumers having linkage with CIL.
CIL Coal Washeries
| Owner Company | Name of Washery | Capacity (MTPA) |
| Central Coalfields Ltd. | Gidi | 2.50 |
| Central Coalfields Ltd. | Piparwar | 6.50 |
| Central Coalfields Ltd. | Kargali | 2.72 |
| Northern Coalfields Ltd. | Bina Deshaling Plant | 4.50 |
| Total | 16.22 |
Private Coal Washeries
| Owner Company | Name of Washery | Capacity (MTPA) |
| Adani Enterprises Ltd. | AEL | 15.00 |
| Aryan Coal Beneficiation (India) Ltd. | Chakabura | 7.50 |
| Aryan Coal Beneficiation (India) Ltd. | Dipka | 14.00 |
| Aryan Coal Beneficiation (India) Ltd. | Panderpauni | 2.62 |
| Aryan Coal Beneficiation (India) Ltd. | Gevra | 6.25 |
| Aryan Coal Beneficiation (India) Ltd. | Binjhari | 4.80 |
| Aryan Coal Beneficiation (India) Ltd. | Hemgir | 5.00 |
| Aryan Energy Pvt. Ltd. | Talcher | 2.34 |
| Global Coal & Mining Pvt. Ltd. | IB Valley | 3.50 |
| Global Coal & Mining Pvt. Ltd. | Ramagundam | 1.00 |
| Global Coal & Mining Pvt. Ltd. | Talcher | 4.00 |
| Global Coal & Mining Pvt. Ltd. | Manuguru | 0.96 |
| Jindal Power ltd. | JPL | 4.75 |
| Kartikay coal Washeries Pvt. Ltd. | Wani | 2.50 |
| Spectrum Coal & Power Ltd. | Ratija | 11.00 |
| Spectrum Coal & Power Ltd. | Talcher | 9.52 |
| Maruti Clean Coal | 3.33 | |
| Gupta Coalfield & Washeries Ltd. | Ramagundam | 2.40 |
| Total | 100.47 |
Capacity utilization of a washery depends on various governing factors, such as plant efficiency, market demand, coal availability, cost of washing etc. which are broadly the business decisions to be taken by the concern washery operator/ coal company/ linked consumer.
Future Plans of CIL
CIL proposes to set up 7 more non-coking coal washeries with a combined capacity of 59 MTPA. Out of these, construction in case of one washery has started. Ministry of Coal has set up an inter Ministerial committee to monitor the progress of construction of washeries.