KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) – Indian government-owned aluminium producer National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) has set a capital expenditure (capex) target of $164-million for the 2018/19 financial year.
According to an agreement signed with the Mines Ministry, the capex will be increasing on adding a one-million-ton-a-year fifth stream at its alumina refinery, development of the Utkal D&E captive coal blocks, wind power projects and upgradation of existing plant and equipment.
On the production side, Nalco has committed to achieve an alumina production target of 2.1-million tons, or about 100% of its installed capacity and aluminium metal production of 415 000 tons, also 100% of its smelting capacity and commitment to reduce its net carbon consumption.
The higher production target will enable the metal major to achieve its highest ever revenue earnings of $1.395-billion, as projected in its agreement with the Mines Ministry.
Outside the purview of its commitment to the Mines Ministry, the Nalco management has evolved a long-term strategic corporate plan to 2032.
In the first seven-year phase, Nalco aimed to ramp up revenues to $2.71-billion and to $4.66-billion over the subsequent phase until 2032, company sources said.
Other Nalco projects on the anvil also include a 600 000 ton-a-year brownfield expansion of its smelters located in eastern province of Odisha, a greenfield smelter construction of 600 000 t/y capacity also in Odisha, a 1 320 MW captive thermal power plant and a cluster for manufacturing downstream aluminium rolled products, foils, wheels and extrusions.
It also proposed a joint venture with steel producer, Neelachal Ispat Nigam, for setting up a coal tar pitch plant for its own consumption.