Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on September 25 to jointly develop and operate two coal blocks in West Bengal, as the two companies aim to raise domestic coking coal output.

The agreement covers SAIL's Indikatta Ramnagore coal block and BCCL's East of Damagoria (Kalyaneshwari) coal block in West Bengal, the companies said in a press statement. The two blocks have a combined peak rated capacity of four million tonnes per annum.

Phase I of the integrated mining arrangement is estimated to hold around 79 million tonnes of extractable reserves, it added. Under the proposed arrangement, mining and overburden management will be coordinated across the two blocks.

Mining will take place at the Kalyaneshwari block, with dumping at the Ramnagore block during Phase I. The arrangement will be reversed in Phase II.

The MoU is intended to allow integrated use of coal resources, boost domestic coking coal production, and support raw material availability for the Indian steel industry.

The initiative also aligns with the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision, the press statement added.