Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has made history by unearthing the first layer of ignite coal from the open pit coal mine in Thar block-II.
The layer of coal was found months ahead of schedule and the company now hopes that it will become a valuable local resource that will help in power generation.
All the coal supplies yield from the first coal layer will go directly to Engro Powergen Thar Limited during the first phase of the mining.
SECMC then plans to supply blended coal to EPTL by October 2018. The first seam of coal has been found 140 meters below the ground.
The company revealed that there would be a couple of more layers below this one because the mine goes down 15 meters deeper to reach the main deposits of coal.
The mining will continue in four phases and SECMC will continue to provide coal to different companies in each phase. In the second phase, the coal will be given to Hubco and TharNova.
In the third phase, Lucky Energy and Siddiqsons Energy will get the coal.
In the final phase of the coal mining, the coal will be given to Liberty Power and Arif Habib. SECMC hopes that power generation will increase when the full supply of coal starts.
The company hopes power will start generating for these supplies by December 2018.