Dighipara Coal Mine
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Dighipara Coal Mine is a proposed coal mine in Nawabgan, Dinajpur, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bangladesh.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Dighipara Coal Mine | Nawabgan, Dinajpur, Dinajpur, Rangpur, Bangladesh[1][2][3] | 25.416667, 89.083333 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Project Type | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proposed[4] | Pre-Permit[5] | New[6] | 2032 (planned)[7] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.4[4] | – | – | Underground[6] | Longwall[6] | 13.98[6] | 370[6] | – |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 706[6] | 2020[6] | – | Dinajpur[6] | Bituminous[8] | Thermal[8] | – |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Petrobangla [100.0%][9] | Petrobangla | Bangladesh |
Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker August 2026 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The Dighipara coal mine was a proposed by Barapakuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL) to produce 3 million tonnes per annum in Rangpur, Bangladesh.
The mine was expected to source coal for the proposed Dighipara power station, which was projected to be commissioned between 2025 and 2032. But, as of 2022, the plant and mine appeared to be shelved or abandoned. In 1995, the Geological Survey of Bangladesh discovered a coal deposit in Dinajpur spanning 24 square kilometres area, which it said had a potential reserve of 865 million tonnes of coal. In 2015, the government leased out the Dighipara deposit to the Barapukuria mining company for development. In September 2016, the coal mining company received proposals for a feasibility study of the mine, which was agreed to in May 2017.[10]
Related plant proposals
Plans for the Dighipara coal mine included discussion of a mine-mouth coal plant of 660 MW developed by PowerChina in 2016,[11] of a 500 MW coal plant, sponsor unknown, proposed in 2017,[12] and of a 1,000 MW ultra-supercritical plant by North-West Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) starting in 2015.[13]
Based on the government plan released in November 2018, the only remaining plan appeared to be the 1,000 MW coal plant by NorthWest Power Generation, planned for commissioning in 2032.[14] Additional information is available at the Dighipara power station wiki.
Feasibility study
Starting in 2017, a consortium conducted a feasibility study to assess the economic viability of the coal field.[15][16]
According to March 2020 reporting, the feasibility study – jointly conducted by German based MIBRAG Consulting International GmbH, FUGRO Consult GmbH, and Runge Pincook Minaroo Limited of Australia – found that Dighipara has "a high quality coal resource of 70.60 crore tonnes"; "the energy content of the coal is high and the ash content is low"; and the coal is "overlain by a very think sequence of semi-consolidated material that host large volume aquifers."[15]
In addition, the government was expected to create a joint venture between state-owned Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Limited (BCMCL) and the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to extract coal. The coal mine was estimated to produce 90 million tonnes of coal in its 30-year tenure and to require a US$2789 million investment to develop.[17]
In Feburary 2021, the "Bangladesh Mining Platform" published a detailed video on YouTube titled "Dighipara Coal Project in Bangladesh" (in Bengali). The video depicted potential coal transport via rail and the Brahmaputra River.[18]
According to Petrobangla's report cited in local media, the recommended extraction approach is the underground multi-slice longwall top coal caving method, following a 2022 review by UK-based consultancy DMT Consulting Limited. Developing the mine would require acquiring approximately 13.98 square kilometers of agricultural land and would involve the relocation of an estimated 11,110 people from 2,798 families. Capital expenditure for the project was estimated at approximately US$1.644 billion, with an operating cost of US$53 per tonne of coal extracted.[19]
As of a March 2025 report, coal mine development at Dighipara had not received final approval from Bangladesh's energy ministry, with sector observers attributing the delay to prolonged inter-agency review processes; in February 2024, the energy division directed BCMCL to pursue development using the longwall top coal caving method, but no further public progress had been reported as of the report's publication.[20]
- Sponsor: Barapakuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL) [21]
- Parent company: Barapakuria Coal Mining Company Limited (BCMCL), Fugro Consult GmbH and Mibrag Consulting International GmbH
- Location: Dinajpur Dist, Rangpur, Bangladesh
- Coordinates: 25.416667, 89.083333 (exact)
- Status: Shelved
- Production: 3 million tonnes per annum[22]
- Reserve: 150 million tonnes[22]
- Start Year: 2032 (projected)
- Coal Type: Bituminous
- Consumer: Dighipara power station, Bangladesh
- Source of financing:
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Figure-1-Location-map-of-the-study-area-Dighipara-coal-field_fig1_319131050;89.0827672.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/energy/govt-plans-mine-90m-tonnes-coal-dighipara-808726;202m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d25.416667!4d89.083333!5m1!1e2?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTEwMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.google.com/maps/place/25%C2%B025'00.0%22N+89%C2%B005'00.0%22E/@25.4166078.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20260626201255/https://bcmcl.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/bcmcl.portal.gov.bd/annual_reports/a351e5a3_8219_4a8a_b3f1_d0d1c5fbe7da/2023-04-06-08-17-1c35ef561d07742cb831d50219bd5ea1.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2026.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/power-energy/376890/coal-mining-stifled-by-bureaucratic-red-tape.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/energy/govt-plans-mine-90m-tonnes-coal-dighipara-808726.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views-opinion/coal-mine-development-at-dighipara-and-the-challenges-1711984809.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20260527034640/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s44288-025-00266-8. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://hamidpurup.dinajpur.gov.bd/en/site/tourist_spot/E65V-%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%9C%E0%A6%AA%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%B2-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%82-%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%83-%E0%A5%A4.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ Deal signing today for the feasibility of Dighipara coal, Dhaka Tribune, May 30, 2017
- ↑ Dighipara coal mine to feed proposed power plant, New Age, September 1, 2016
- ↑ Government to build 500MW power plant at Dighipara, Dhaka Tribune, May 30, 2017
- ↑ Future projects, North-West Power Generation Company website, updated November 2018
- ↑ 2016 Master Plan "Revisited", Bangladesh Power Division, November 2018
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Dighipara has 70.60cr tonne minable coal: report, TBS News, March 9, 2020
- ↑ Feasibility Study for Development of Dighipara Coal Field at Dighipara, Dinajpur, Bangladesh-Project, BCMCL, 2017
- ↑ Govt plans to create jv co to extract coal from Dighipara, Daily Sun, March 22, 2020
- ↑ Dighipara Coal Project in Bangladesh, Bangladesh Mining Platform, February 4, 2021
- ↑ Kashem, Abul (2024-03-14). "Govt plans to mine 90 million tonnes of coal at Dighipara". The Business Standard. Retrieved 2026-08-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Coal mining stifled by bureaucratic red tape". Dhaka Tribune. 2025-03-21. Retrieved 2026-08-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ RPM Global, As Part of a Consortium, Have Been Chosen to Conduct A Feasibility Study for Barapurkuria Coal Mining Company Ltd (Bcmcl) as Part of the Government’s ‘Energy Security’ Program, Press Release, June 1, 2017
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Deal signing today for feasibility of Dighipara coal, Dhaka Tribune, May 30, 2017
