Photo by: Bloomberg
KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) - Hindustan Copper Limited’s (HCL's) plan to ramp up its production capacity to 12.41-million tonnes a year from the current 3.66-million tonnes a year was likely to miss the 2017/18 deadline following delays in securing mandatory approvals.
The country’s sole integrated copper producer’s planned hike in production entailed an investment of about $580-million, and largely hinged on the expansion of its largest copper producing facility at Malanjkhand, in the central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh, an official in the Mines Ministry said.
The Malanjkhand mines, located in close proximity to the Kanha National Park, accounted for over 70% of the country’s total copper reserves and was the most critical element to HCL’s plans to augment production capacities, he added.
However, the National Wildlife Board (NWB) had failed to grant approval for expansion of the Malanjkhand mines and the matter has been kept pending for over two years, the official said.
It was pointed out that of the total $580-million investments lined up by the copper producer, around $200-million had been earmarked for HCL’s Malanjkhand operations, with contracts to various vendors already awarded, despite the absence of approval from NWB.
Malanjkhand has extractable reserves of about 141-million tonnes with HCL’s current production from the mine averaged at around 2.25-million tonnes or about 80% of the company’s total copper ore production.
As a majority government owned and managed miner, HCL’s investments were approved by the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs, the Indian government’s apex decision-making body. The company had also approached the Project Monitoring Group, headed by the Prime Minister, set up specifically to look into stalled projects but this also failed to fast-track the delayed Malanjkhand expansion.
HCL has four operating units at Khetri Copper Complex, in the central Indian province of Rajasthan, at Indian Copper Complex (ICC), in Ghatsila, in Jharkhand, at Malanjkhand Copper Project, in Madhya Pradesh and at Taloja Copper Project in Maharasthra.
The other mines that have been identified for expansion and revival include Chapri-Siddeswar, Kendadih and Rakha mines, all part of HCL’s ICC. Apart from these, the company will also develop a greenfield underground mine at Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh.