Jharkhand Unveils India's First Mining Tourism Experience with Guided Coal Mine Tours

Jharkhand has emerged as the first state in India to promote mining tourism, providing tourists with an escorted view of functional coal mines and the rich industrial heritage of the state. The project was officially inaugurated on 21st July 2025 by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who termed it a revolutionary move towards integrating industry, heritage, and tourism.

Under the five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked by the Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) and Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), the state will organize guided tours at North Urimari Mines in the Ramgarh district. The deal, signed in the presence of Tourism Minister Sudivya Kumar and CCL CMD Nilendu Kumar Singh, is a breakthrough in experiential and industrial tourism.

First, the trips will be available two days a week for 10-20 tourists each, costing Rs 2,500 per tourist. Round trip travel from a specified pickup point and light refreshments on the mine premises are included. Rs 200 of each tourist's fee will go to CCL for on-site hospitality. Pre-bookings should open soon on the JTDC website and at their offices once CCL has completed the safety clearances.

Every tour will be conducted by CCL experts, who will ensure that safety measures are in place and inform the visitors about mining operations, geology, equipment, and the larger context of nation-building through mining. Officials spoke of plans to open up to other locations, including possibly underground mines, depending on demand and operational feasibility.

The new project is based on Jharkhand's Tourism Policy 2021, where mining tourism was recognized as a strategic option to increase the diversity of the state's tourists' experiences beyond natural and tribal tourism. Tourism Minister Kumar pointed to future circuit possibilities based on BCCL-managed mines.

By transforming active mining areas into themed tourist attractions, Jharkhand hopes to draw in domestic as well as educational tourists while spreading awareness of its mineral resources and industrial past. The initiative promises also to be an employment generator, an income booster in tourism terms, and a visibility drive for the industrial heritage of the state.

As the nation experiments with this new tourism idea, Jharkhand is at the forefront of blending energy infrastructure with storytelling heritage and economic creativity and establishing a new front in tourism.