Hindustan Copper aims to raise ore production capacity to 20 MTPA
<p style="text-align: center;"><img title="1595819869123897.png" alt="7.png" src="/ueditor/php/upload/image/20200727/1595819869123897.png"/></p><p>State-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) is looking to rope in a partner with strong financial health to help it expedite ore output capacity to over 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), its CMD Arun Kumar Shukla has said.<br/><br/>He said all statutory clearances are in place for the first phase of expansion.<br/><br/>Speaking to , the HCL chairman and managing director said the company will enhance its ore production capacity from the current level of 4 MTPA to 12.2 MTPA in the first phase, and subsequently to 20.2 MTPA, in line with the government's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative.<br/><br/>To achieve this target, he said HCL "is looking for a suitable partner with strong financial background to expedite its future mine expansion project at a faster pace".<br/><br/>Kumar said three-fold rise in ore production under the first phase is expected to be achieved in the next seven to eight years and this includes a major shift from open pit mining to underground mining at Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) -- the flagship unit of HCL.<br/><br/>HCL is presently struggling with the issue of low grade ore. However, it is expected that by the end of 2020-2021 ore production from underground mine will start and the issue will be partially addressed, the CMD explained.<br/><br/>Earlier, Shukla had said that the financial condition of HCL is in "dire straits" primarily due to the dismal performance of the PSU in 2019-20 and had asked the employees to brace up for tough times ahead.<br/><br/>Hindustan Copper had posted a consolidated loss of Rs 514.27 crore for the quarter ended March 2020.<br/><br/>For the year ended March 2020, the company had a consolidated loss of Rs 569.21 crore.</p>
27 Jul,2020
