A coal mine hardly exploited and then what?

While production in all the new coal-based power plants has been facing cut-offs due to coal shortage amid the ever-increasing electricity demand, Barapukuria 525-megawatt Thermal Power Plant has been the exception.

It keeps running with local coal, which would have required $144 million every year if imported.

But the plant officials are not sure about the guaranteed supply from nearby Barapukuria coal mine beyond 2027 when the existing approval of mining will expire.

A top official of the Barapukuria mining company has claimed that the country's lone operational coal mine has more coal in store and they are waiting for the authorities' response to a proposal sent in January seeking approval for further exploration.

Since 2005, only 3.41% of the coal field's estimated reserve has so far been extracted, according to the mine operator.

Authorities, however, have said exploring more coal from the local quarry is not in their mind now.

Mohammad Hossain, director general of the Power Cell, a policy-making wing of the Power Division, stated that they are not currently considering this matter.

"We are currently focused on addressing ongoing issues like power and energy shortages that have intensified load shedding amid the scorching heat. We will think about it later," he added.

Worries about future coal supply

Two out of three units of the coal-powered plant have continued electricity production, relying on coal from the nearby Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Limited (BCMCL).

The future operation of the power plant, however, seems uncertain as the mining company practically has no approved plan for coal production after 2027.

Besides, the mine's central part, which has been supplying coal since 2005, will run out of the reserve within the next four years, said officials concerned.

Even if the government decides to develop another coalfield now, it will take three to five years to start production, according to documents obtained from the Power Division and Barapukuria coal mine company.

The Barapukuria power plant, which meets 64% of the Rangpur division's 409MW daily electricity demand, is solely dependent on the coal supplied from Barapukuria mine. 

So the plant will automatically shut down if the production ceases in the mine, or the government will have to import coal to keep the plant operational, according to Md Abu Bakar Siddique, additional chief engineer of Barapukuria power plant.

He stated that the coal mine authorities cannot guarantee coal supply after 2027. "We have informed the Bangladesh Power Development Board, the owner of the power plant, about the future coal supply uncertainty. But as of now, we have not received any reply from the Bangladesh Power Development Board."

Currently, the plant requires around 3,000-3,500 tonnes of coal per day to generate approximately 260MW of electricity. If supply from the Barapukria mine stops after 2027, the authority will have to import around 1.2 million tonnes of coal per year to feed the power plant, plant officials said.

Exploring alternative coal mining options

When contacted, Zanendra Nath Sarker, chairman of Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources Corporation (Petrobangla), the owning company of the coal mine, expressed concern and stated that Petrobangla is exploring options to ensure continuous coal production.

"We have two coal mines near the existing one – Phulbari and Dighipara coalfields in Nawabganj -- as options in our planning. We can proceed with one of these if we get approval from the highest level, though these mines are at very preliminary stages," he said.

However, the government is taking time because developing another mine will require land acquisition, which is a very sensitive decision as the land in that area is very fertile and people's livelihoods are also linked with it.

"We will have to balance all these factors. This is also an election year, so no sudden decisions will be made," added Zanendra Nath Sarker.

Uncertainty looms over coal production

In December 2021, Barapukuria Coal Mine Company signed a contract with a consortium of Xuzhou Coal Mining Group Ltd and the China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) for underground roadways construction, coal extraction, operation, and maintenance, spanning six years.

Under the agreement, the XMC-CMC consortium is expected to produce a minimum of 4.5 million tonnes of coal by 2027. Last year, the consortium produced approximately one million tonnes of coal from the mine.

Currently, it is producing around 3,500 tonnes of coal per day.

According to the agreement, the contractor is expected to produce an additional 3.5 million tonnes in the next four years. However, there is no approved plan for coal extraction beyond that.

Md Shaiful Islam Sarkar, managing director of Barapukuria Coal Mining Company, said, "We have informed Petrobangla and the Energy and Mineral Resource Division about the current production situation and feasible production projection. However, we are yet to receive any decision from the higher authorities."

Shaiful mentioned that there is a potential for producing more coal from the northern and southern parts of the Barapukuria coal basin, which have not been developed yet.

"Whatever coal has been produced, it was extracted from the central part of the mine. So, the northern and southern parts, comparatively shallow reserves, are yet to be developed," he added.

According to a proposal sent to the Energy and Mineral Resources Division on January 29 this year, Barapukuria Coal Mining Company Limited projected that approximately six million tonnes of coal could be produced annually from these two parts if open-pit mining is conducted. However, no decision has been delivered to the mine operator.

Returns from the country's first coal mine

Bangladesh's first coal mining development began in June 1994 under a project titled "Barapukuria Coal Mine Development Project," involving a cost of $194 million, equivalent to around Tk1,365.66 crore.

However, commercial coal production from the country's first-ever mine started on 10 September 2005.

According to a research paper published by Princeton University, underground mining methods usually leave a significant portion of the coal reserve in the ground, with some underground mines recovering only 30% to 50% of the minable resource. On average, across all underground mines in the United States, the recovery ratio is 63%.

On the other hand, surface mines typically recover from 70% to 90% of the minable resource.

Since 2005, only around 14 million tonnes of coal have been extracted from the Barapukuria coal mine, compared to the total mine reserve of around 400 million tonnes, which is only 3.41% of the total.

Md Shaiful Islam Sarkar hopes that the total recovery from the central part of the mine would be around 10% to 12% by the completion of the ongoing contract, which expects to produce an additional 3.5 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, the Chinese contractor has netted around Tk6,827 crore in the last 18 years under four contracts and the Bangladesh government national exchequer has received Tk3,552 crore from the mine's coal sales to the power plant and local buyers.

Dr Badrul Imam, a senior geologist of the country and an honorary professor at Dhaka University, explained that the lower recovery of the mine is due to an improper and outdated mine plan.

"The Chinese contractor extracts coal from one slice and leaves another slice to avoid land subsidence, which is the main reason for the lower production. The Chinese design is not the best, and production could have been increased by changing the design," added Badrul Imam, who is also an independent director on the BCMCL's board.

This story was produced with the help of Thomson Reuters Foundation. The content is the sole responsibility of the author and the publisher.