India’s Hindustan Copper Ltd. is aiming to ramp up its smelting capacity to 100,000 tonnes per annum from the existing 70,000 tonnes and reach a turnover of 20 billion Indian rupees by the end of this fiscal year, Mint reported, citing the company’s chairman and managing director, Santosh Sharma.
The state-owned copper miner is also looking to restart its redundant smelter in Rajasthan, which will supplant the copper shortfall in the wake of the closure of Sterlite Industries Ltd.’s Tamil Nadu unit.
Sharma said the Khetri smelter will be ready by June 15 and will result in a 20% capacity increase at 31,000 tonnes. He added that Hindustan’s priority is to explore full potential in refined copper production.
Meanwhile, Hindustan, which secured a license to function as an independent exploration agency, is aiming to raise between 8 billion rupees and 10 billion rupees through a qualified institutional placement.
About 7 billion rupees have been set aside in the current fiscal year to support the copper producer’s expansion and diversification plans.
As of June 5, US$1 was equivalent to 67.13 Indian rupees.
