Epiroc India based in Nashik, Maharashtra has recently delivered a fleet of nine IDM30 rotary blasthole drills (for 152 to 165 mm drill holes) to Coal India division Northern Coal Fields Ltd (NCL) in record time, overcoming COVID-19 limitations. This model is one of the workhorses in Indian mining and the fleet delivery follows previous success in 2018/2019 when it delivered a fleet of seven IDM 30 machines to Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) with additional new machines recently delivered to Western Coalfields Ltd (WCL).

NCL last year said it plans to increase its production up to 130 Mt of coal in FY2023-2024 in order to contribute towards the 1 billion tonne coal production target of Coal India. NCL operations involve 10 open cast coal mines with large heavy mechanised equipment fleets. Investment of about INR 3,000 Crore (over US$400 million) was earmarked for the procurement of heavy earthmoving machines (HEMMs) and another INR 3,000 Crore for development of additional coal extraction related infrastructure.