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Mr Vinod Juneja

Suresh P. Iyengar

Mumbai, Dec. 29 The Binani Group has lined up Rs 1,300 crore investments in cement and zinc.

The company will sign up a commitment to invest Rs 1,000 crore at the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ meet on January 12. It has earlier proposed to set up a 2-million tonne cement manufacturing plant, including jetty facility.

Mr Vinod Juneja, Managing Director, Binani Cement, said, “We have tied up Rs 450 crore through a consortium of six banks, including IDBI and Punjab National Bank. The company will chip in the rest for the cement project.”

“The company has acquired 25 acres required for the plant and is awaiting mining policy of the Gujarat Government to kick-start the project,” he added.

The company will also invest Rs 300 crore to set up a zinc smelter in Rajasthan in addition to its zinc unit at Kochi in Kerala.

RBG Minerals Industries Ltd, a joint venture company promoted by Rajasthan State Mines & Minerals (RSMML), Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) and Binani Zinc Ltd will jointly develop Ambaji Group of Mines comprising Ambaji, Deri and Basantgarh base metal mines such as copper, lead and zinc.

The mines were earlier explored separately and abandoned by RSMML and GMDC. RBG prepared a feasibility report to develop the mine jointly through Steffen Robertson and Kristen, US. The project is expected to commence from April 2009 after transfer of mining lease by GMDC and RSMM to RBG.

The upcoming smelter by Binani Zinc at Udaipur in Rajasthan will utilise the ore produced by RBG Minerals. Once the project goes on stream, the company will be able to double its capacity of 38,000 tonnes a year.

Justifying the decision to double zinc capacity, particularly when the prices of the metal are on a slide, Mr Juneja said, “The prices may be down currently, but we have a long-term vision. Moreover, prices will bounce back once the economy recovers.”

Zinc, which is used for galvanising steel, was in good demand. Although prices of the metal were influenced by the US economic slowdown and Chinese excess production, analysts expect the robust Indian demand to salvage prices in the near term.

The Nimbari Chandawatan Lignite block at Nagaur district in Rajasthan, which was allotted to Binani Cement, is scheduled to produce 500 tonnes per day (tpd) of lignite by September 2009. It will be further enhanced to produce 1,000 tpd by September 2010. The company will set up a 54 MW power plant near the mining site.

The geological survey has predicted a reserve of 9.68 million tonnes of lignite sufficient to operate the power plant for 25 years.

“The power generation cost at pit head will be Rs 3 per kWh by September 2010. The power will be wheeled through the State grid, and will ensure consistent supply,” he said.

More Stories on : Cement | New Projects | Metals

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