Talabira II & III open-pit coal mine in India's Odisha, operated by NLC India, achieved its highest annual production and dispatch in FY26 (ending in March 2026), according to an official press release issued by the Ministry of Coal on August 24.

The mine produced 19.14 million tonnes of coal in FY26, up 11.28% year on year, data showed. Annual coal dispatch reached 17.69 million tonnes, of which 10.72 million tonnes went to the power sector and 6.97 million tonnes to the non-regulated sector.

As of August 14, 2026, cumulative production at the mine reached 72.23 million tonnes, while total dispatch amounted to 70.89 million tonnes, the ministry said.

Located in the Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts of Odisha, the mine also set a single-day production record of 126,138.07 tonnes on March 21, 2026, and recorded its highest monthly output of 3.39 million tonnes in March 2026.

Coal from Talabira II & III is delivered to power plants operated by NTPC at Darlipali, Gadarwara, Khargone and Kudgi, as well as to other generating facilities across Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The mine has introduced a Digital Logistics Management System for end-to-end oversight of coal transportation and dispatch. The system relies on RFID-based vehicle identification, AI-enabled cameras and automated entry and exit gats.

Following its deployment, average processing time at entry gates dropped to 0.54 minutes per vehicle from 1.42 minutes, while tare weighment time fell to 0.48 minutes from 1.34 minutes.

The mine also employs surface miners fitted with dust-suppression systems, GPS-based fleet tracking, geo-fencing, drone surveys, mechanized truck loading and continuous ambient air quality monitoring.

Talabira II & III was allocated to NLC India in May 2016 under Schedule III of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015.

In addition, the mine has installed 11.68 KW of solar power capacity, which supports solar lighting in nearby villages and within mine infrastructure.