State-run Coal India said it will commission the Siarmal coal mine in eastern Odisha state, India, as the country struggles to keep up with power demand, reported Reuters.

Output from the mine will rise gradually, reaching a capacity of 50 million tonnes in about five to seven years, Vinayak Jamwal, spokesman for Coal India unit Mahanadi Coalfields, told the news agency.

Production is anticipated to start in the fourth quarter at an annualised rate of about 2 million to 5 million tonnes.

Coal India said it also has plans to open two more mines with a combined annual capacity of 7 million tonnes in the financial year ending March 31, 2023.

Source: Reuters