Singareni said its long term plan was to open 16 opencut mines and nine underground mines over the next 12 years. Over the same period the company will close six opencut operations and 11 underground mines.

By 2017-17 Singareni expects to lift annual output to 40.8 million tonnes.

The company also said it would convert its underground mines to opencast mines to lower cost of production and increase safety.

The Economic Times reported the average cost of production in a Singareni underground mine was 2.5 times the cost from an opencast mine.

Singareni’s mining activities are concentrated in four districts of Andhra Pradesh viz., Khammam, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal.

The company posted its first profit in 27 years in the 2003/04 financial year.