KOLKATA: Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) is confident of achieving its 58-million-tonne coal production target in the current financial year and returning to profit, even as it prepares to close six loss-making underground mines to address high legacy costs, Chairman and Managing Director Satish Jha said.

ECL, a Coal India subsidiary operating in the Raniganj coalfield, had remained profitable on a year-on-year basis and also posted a profit in the first quarter of the current fiscal, but slipped into a loss in the September quarter due to prolonged monsoon disruptions that severely impacted output.

"From June 15 to August 27, we had rainfall almost every day. It was not only the quantity of rain, but the number of rainy days that affected production to a very large extent," Jha told PTI i

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