The board of directors of Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) has recommended the closure of 64 mines in six areas of the company, the Minister of State for Coal, Mr. Dilip Ray, informed the Rajya Sabha. Eastern Coalfields and a few other companies have not been able to compete with imported coal as the coal imported from Indonesia, Australia, South Africa and China were more competitively priced than Indian coal at certain locations within the country.