Nissan Copper eyes mines abroad

Nissan Copper, a company that manufactures copper ingots and coils and other copper products, plans to acquire a 50,000-tonne per annum capacity copper mine in Australia or Afghanistan will be concluding a deal within the next two years.

The motive behind the acquisition is to meet its own increasing demand of copper as well as to sell excess material to other copper manufacturing units of the country as India imports 70 per cent of its total requirement of copper from countries such as Australia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

A reliable source of the company, while talking to Business Standard said, "Nissan Copper is looking for copper mines with a production capacity of 50,000 tonne per annum (tpa) in Australia and Afghanistan to meet its own growing need of raw material.

The company plans to sell the excess produce to the rest of the Indian copper manufacturers."

When asked the reason for looking outside the country for the mines the sources said, "The company is looking out of the country because the quality of copper concentrates found in Indian states such as Rajasthan, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh is not as satisfactory as compared that found in Australia and Afghanistan.

Moreover, there are more chances of finding a mine with the required capacity outside India as there are more than 200 copper mines in Afghanistan itself."

He also said that the company had approached Madhya Pradesh for acquiring a copper mine in the state but the state government has not yet responded to it.

Currently, two Indian copper majors Aditya Birla group firm Hindalco and Sterlite Industries, the flagship company of Vedanta Group, have their own mines in Australia.

Talking to Business Standard, the company's managing director Ratan Mardia said, "Currently, our need of copper is 12,000 tpa, which is going to increase in the near future, as the company targets to increase production capacity of copper pipes from existing 1,200 tpa to 2,400 tpa. The production of copper section, mother tubes, flats, rods, and wire bars will be increased from existing 2,400 tpa to 5,400 tpa, while production of copper ingots and billet bars will go up from 7,200 tpa to 10,800 tpa."

The company currently has two manufacturing units, one each in Umergaon in Gujarat and in Silvassa in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

The Nissan Copper managing director Ratan Mardia and its vice-chairman Sanjay Mardia were in Ahmedabad recently to announce its forthcoming IPO worth Rs 25 crore.

The company plans to raise Rs 35 crore, of which Rs 25 crore will be raised via public issue with 100 per cent book-building and the remaining Rs 10 crore will be financed by the SBI.

The price band of the equity shares is fixed between Rs 33 and Rs 39. The issue opens on December 4 and closes on December 8.

The company plans to invest the fund into installation of two new furnaces, one extrusion press of 5000 tonne capacity and two lines for drawing of pipes in its existing plants.