The Talabira II & III Open Cast Coal Mine in Odisha, allocated to NLC India Ltd under the Nominated Authority framework, recorded its highest-ever annual coal production of 19.14 MT in FY 2025-26, marking an 11.28% year-on-year increase.
The mine, located across Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts, also achieved record daily production of 1,26,138.07 tonnes on March 21, 2026, and its highest monthly production of 3.39 MT in March 2026.
Coal dispatch also reached a record 17.69 MT during FY26, including around 10.72 MT supplied to the power sector and 6.97 MT to the non-regulated sector. The mine supplies coal to power plants across several states, including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Since commencing operations, the mine’s cumulative coal production has reached 72.23 MT, while cumulative dispatch stood at 70.89 MT as of August 14, 2026.
Technology has played a key role in improving operational efficiency. The mine uses a Digital Logistics Management System featuring RFID-based vehicle verification, AI-enabled cameras and automated entry and exit gates. Following its implementation, average vehicle entry-gate processing time declined from 1.42 minutes to 0.54 minutes, while tare weighment time fell from 1.34 minutes to 0.48 minutes.
Other technologies deployed include surface miners with dust-suppression systems, GPS-based fleet management, geo-fencing, drone surveying, 3D terrestrial laser scanning, mechanised truck loading, continuous ambient air-quality monitoring and CCTV surveillance.
The mine has also undertaken environmental measures, including plantation across 23.43 hectares within the mine lease and 29.48 hectares outside it, covering 64,288 and 65,202 plants respectively. It has installed 11.68 kW of solar power capacity and implemented multiple dust-control measures, including wet drilling, water sprinkling, fog cannons, wind barriers and mechanised road sweeping.
Safety remains a major focus, with the mine reporting zero fatal accidents since inception. It has received a Five-Star Rating under the Ministry of Coal’s Star Rating Evaluation consecutively from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.
The project supports 3,277 employment opportunities, comprising 1,277 direct and around 2,000 indirect jobs through transportation and allied activities. Skill-development and livelihood programmes have also benefited project-affected persons, rural youth and women.
CSR spending stood at Rs 5.32 crore in FY 2025-26, covering healthcare, drinking water, education, rural infrastructure, sports, cultural activities and solar lighting. During FY 2026-27 up to July 2026, an additional Rs 4.20 crore was spent on initiatives including healthcare, drinking-water supply, school and Anganwadi infrastructure, rural roads, community facilities and water-body rejuvenation.
The record production and dispatch at Talabira II & III highlight the contribution of operationalised coal resources towards strengthening domestic coal availability, energy security, technology-driven mining, environmental management, employment and community development.