The Hindu Business Line : Hind Copper to increase mining capacity

Plans on cards
Has appointed SRK Consulting Co of UK to prepare a scheme for optimising existing mining capacity.
To give maximum thrust on mine development.

Kolkata , Sept. 27

State-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) plans to maximise its copper ingot production and ore mining capacity, entailing an investment between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 2,000 crore in phases. This is in anticipation that demand for copper will rise considerably in the near future following the Union Government's increasing thrust on infrastructure development (which includes power generation, transmission and consumer electronics etc).

Report in 3 months

The Chairman of HCL, Mr Satish C. Gupta, told reporters that the company had appointed SRK Consulting Co of UK to prepare a scheme for optimising the company's existing mining capacity (including the Banwas deposit at Khetri) and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the development of an underground copper ore mine at Malanjkhand. The report on capacity optimisation would be ready within three months while the DPR would be ready within a year.

Mine development

Having achieved net profits in the last two consecutives years, HCL is now aiming to emerge as self-sustaining and profit-making organisation. It has decided to give maximum thrust for mine development. This includes feasibility studies for transition of open cast mine to underground mine a Malanjkhand.

In addition, steps have been taken for preparation of information technology roadmap of energy conservation, hedging and diversification into value-added niche products.

Mr Gupta said the company had plans to reduce its dependence on imported copper concentrate from the current fiscal by producing more ore from its mines. The ore production was expected to be about 40 lakh tonnes in 2006-07 against 26 lakh tonnes in 2005-06, while the metal-in-concentrate (MIC) production would be around 30,000 tonnes against 23,000 tonnes in 2005-06.

Turnover, profit

Commensurate to the increase in production, the company's turnover and net profit would be higher than the turnover of about Rs 1,053 crore and net profit of about Rs 100 crore recorded in 2005-06.

The net profit registered a significant increase as against about Rs 52 crore in 2004-05. He said the rise in bottomline was achieved through improved production processes, reduction in interest costs, savings in manufacturing overheads and other cost cutting measures.

The surge in LME price of copper also helped in improved sales realisation and better working results.

It was mentioned that net worth of the company as on March 2006 was about Rs 225 crore and HCL had been able to maintain the upward trend in profitability during the current financial year too registering cumulative net profit of about Rs 83 crore up to August 2006.

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