State-controlled Coal India has announced that it will complete the installation of GPS-based movement tracking systems at 11 Indian mines later this month.
The mines, which produce 5Mtpa of coal, will be equipped with a coal handling and mining vehicle tracking system at an estimated cost of Rs1.5bn ($28.77m).
The second phase of the project will see up to 11 more mines equipped with the software, manufactured by Wipro and Leica Geosystems.
The project is expected to ensure higher productivity and speedy coal evacuation, Coal India officials told local reporters.
An internal Coal India study revealed that the company could lose Rs500bn ($9.59bn) if a 170t truck remained idle for just 30 minutes.
The company said the figure could double if the truck was of larger capacity.
Coal India has around 400 mines and some 30,000 heavy-duty mining vehicles currently in operation.
