Hindustan Copper Limited to float joint venture with NALCO and MECL for overseas mineral exploration
Kolkata, Nov 11 (IBNS): Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) on Saturday said it is set to form a joint venture with state-owned companies National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) called KABIL- Khanij Bidesh India Limited to deal with Government-to-Government business on strategic minerals exploration and exploitation in foreign shores.
The HCL board has passed the proposal last Friday and MECL has also approved it already, stated Santosh Sharma, CMD, HCL.
This apart, the Category – I Miniratna PSU in its board meeting also approved tailing projects for extracting precious metals like gold and silver after copper beneficiation at Malanjkhund Copper Project. These projects will lead to the PSU’s diversification into other metals, stated Shri Sharma.
Sharma further informed, with NALCO Board approving the KABIL proposal, the joint venture okayed by Ministry of Mines with its headquarter at Bhubaneswar, will be floated with a Rs 100 crore capital.
The company will explore and exploit rare minerals like titanium, gallium, rhenium which are used in defence equipments, aircrafts and shipbuilding.
Full fledged production of the ‘waste to wealth’ project ar Malanjkhand will take off in April 2018, stated the CMD of HCL.
“Techno-economic feasibility for copper tailing project has already been submitted. In the tailing process, 10 thousand tonnes of ore is expected to give 1.1.Kg gold and 11 Kg silver”, he informed.
Speaking about the PSU’s performance in the last quarter, Shri Sharma added, production of metal-in-concentrate and sales figures have gone up in comparison to the corresponding period last year. The profit before tax for second quarter 2017-18 has been Rs 43.80 crores whereas it was Rs 9.20 crores in 2016-17. The volume of copper sales has increased by 85%, the mine production in the form of metal –in-concentrate has risen by 4% and copper cathode production increased by 110% on back of commissioning of the new Gujarat Copper Project, Shri Sharma revealed.
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