Calcutta | Aug. 22, 2017: Hindustan Copper will invest Rs 5,000 crore over four years in new facilities and mines. The expansion will be funded by debt, equity and internal accruals.
The PSU plans to set up a facility to make copper cathode with an annual capacity of 1 lakh tonne.
"The site of the (copper cathode) project has been finalised and investment in the project is around Rs 3025 crore, After the recommendation of the board, the proposal has been sent to the ministry to obtain cabinet (CCEA) approval," said chairman and managing director K.D. Diwan.
On the mining side, Diwan said the company expected production from its flagship project at Malanjkhand, Madhya Pradesh, with an annual capacity of 50 lakh tonnes, to commence from December 2018.
An operator has been appointed for the Banwas mine at Khetri (Rajasthan), while environment approval has come for the reopening of the Kendadih and Rakha mines at Ghatsila in Jharkhand.
The mining projects are expected to expand the capacity to 12 million tonnes per annum over a four-year period from 3.2 million tonnes per annum.
The Gujarat copper project, acquired in 2015, has produced 8,906 tonnes of copper cathode last year.
The PSU, which has its headquarters in Calcutta, has awarded a contract for a copper ore tail plant (waste generated during copper ore beneficiation) with an annual capacity of 3.3 million tonne at Malanjkhand. The project is expected to be commissioned this fiscal.
The copper producer has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (Midhani), a defence public sector undertaking, for a joint venture in the production of copper-nickel tubes and associated products.
During 2016-17, Hindustan Copper's sales volume was 28,888 tonnes against 24,112 tonnes during the previous year. The firm's operations are spread across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
(Source: https://www.telegraphindia.com/)