Hindustan Copper targets Rs 1,200 cr capex in 2018-19

State-run Hindustan Copper Ltd, which is targeting Rs 2,000 crore revenue from operations in the current fiscal, aims to make capital expenditure (capex) of Rs 1,200 crore this year for capacity expansion, reopening of closed mines and acquiring new mining leases, a top official said on Thursday.

"We are targeting Rs 2,000 crore revenue from operations in 2019-20. Our commitment for capex is Rs 600 crore for this year," Chairman and Managing Director Santosh Sharma told reporters here.

"We, however, aspire to make capital investment of Rs 1,200 crore in this fiscal for capacity expansion of existing mines, reopening of closed mines and acquiring new mining leases," he said.

The Kolkata-headquartered company plans to commence work for reopening of the Rakha mine and starting the Chapri-Sidheswar mine at Ghatsila.

"Bids for Malanjkhand and Chapri mines have been received. We expect to finalise the successful parties very soon," Sharma said.

Referring to the company's copper ore tailing facility with a capacity of about 3 million tonnes (MT) per annum at Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh, he said the project was supposed to be commissioned last year, but owing to operational problems the miner could complete 30 per cent of the owrk.

"In the coming three months, we would be able to commission the project and are expecting that we would come to commercial production in the next 5-6 months," Sharma said, adding that the project could provide Rs 50-60 crore revenue annually to the miner.

Sharma said Hindustan Copper's long term debt stood at Rs 678 crore while the short-term one stands at Rs 392 crore.

The company has been implementing a mine expansion scheme to quadruple its annual capacity from 3.4 million tonnes to 20.2 million tonnes.

The copper miner had recorded a revenue of Rs 1,816.25 crore in 2018-19, with 9 per cent year-on-year growth over the previous year.

The miner is targeting a production of 51.5 lakh tonnes of copper ore in the current fiscal, Sharma said.

During 2018-19, the company produced 41.22 lakh tonnes of copper ore, which was 12 per cent higher than the previous year's output of 36.75 lakh tonnes.

-- IANS

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