Hindustan Copper sets Rs 700 cr capex target this year

State-run Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) on Friday said the capital expenditure (capex) for the current fiscal has been set at Rs 700 crore and it is expecting a significant growth in mine production.

"Capex expenditure in FY'18 (2017-18) has increased significantly to Rs 590 crore from Rs 401 crore in the previous year, thus registering a growth of 47 per cent. This year, the target of capex has been set at Rs 700 crore," it said in a statement.

During the FY 2017-18, two mine expansion projects, namely Banwas mine at Rajasthan and Kendadih mine at Jharkhand, were commissioned.

"Consequently, in the current FY 2018-19, the Company expects significant growth in the mine production," it said.

The company's revenue from operations (gross) during the FY 18 registered a growth of 31 per cent to Rs 1,720 crore compared to Rs 1,311 crore in the previous year.

Copper sales volume in FY'18 increased by 26 per cent to 36,435 tonnes compared to 28,888 tonnes in the last fiscal year, the miner said.

Copper cathode production during FY'18 was 39 per cent higher than the last year. Metal-in-Concentrate production was 4 per cent higher than the last year.

During the FY 2017-18, the company has initiated a project on "Waste to Wealth".

The miner said a compatible technology has been developed to extract minerals and metals from copper ore tails (CoT), a waste generated during copper ore beneficiation.

"A plant with annual capacity of 3.3 million tonne is constructed at Malanjkhand, Madhya Pradesh which is expected to be commissioned in July, 2018. The project shall be a significant value creator for the company," it said.

--IANS

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