HCL seeks gold in copper ore leftovers

Project could generate 360 kg gold, 3,600 kg silver a year

The state-owned Hindustan Copper (HCL), the country’s sole vertically integrated copper producer, is planning to venture into the extraction of gold and silver from the copper ore reverts in Malanjkhand in Madhya Pradesh.

With an investment of ~2 billion, the company will commission an extraction plant by June this year in Malanjkhand, which houses India’s single largest copper deposits. The project could generate 360 kg gold and 3,600 kg silver annually.

HCL Chairman and Managing Director Santosh Sharma told Business Standard the plant would be able to process 10,000 tonnes of tailings a day and this could produce 1 kg gold and 10 kg silver. Tailings are leftover ore after the extraction of the primary mineral after extraction of a primary mineral.

“This plant will be finished by March-end and start production by June. Based on the success at Malanjkhand, we will put up a similar plant in the Khetri copper project in Rajasthan,” Sharma said.

The company has already accumulated 50 million tonnes (mt) of such tailings in Malanjkhand and Khetri each. This will provide a steady supply of raw material for the plant. Additionally, every day, 5,0007,000 tonnes of tailings are generated by the company on account of copper extraction activities. According to Sharma, this wll be the first step in HCL’s diversification strategy.

HCL is also planning to set up a joint venture, Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL), with National Aluminium Company and Mineral Exploration Corporation for sourcing rare minerals such as titanium from abroad. This venture will have authorised and paidup capital of ~1 billion and ~300 million, respectively.

Though securing rights over rare minerals was a priority, HCL executives said the gold and silver extraction project had taken precedence and this could help the copper producer reap instentaneous benefits.

“Acquisitions take time to complete. There are several processes that need to be followed and then these have to be approved by all the stakeholders in KABIL,” an industry official explained. Another state-owned miner, Coal India, had opted for acquisition of coal assets abroad thrice, but so far it has not been able to execute an agreement.

Sharma said the technology for extracting precious metal from copper ore tailings had been made available in the country only recently. However, the gold and silver that will be extracted from these tailings will need further refining and processing. “The metals we extract will be in concentrated form and in need of further processing. A tender inviting expressions of interest in this regard will be floated by Marchend,” Sharma said.

He said as a result of this diversification, HCL’s annual gross profit could double to ~1-1.2 billion, strengthening cash flow and fueling its expansion plans.

To raise its annual production from the current 3.4 mt to 12.41 mt, HCL will invest around $700 million in the next five years.

During the first nine months of 2017-18, the company made a ~0.58 billion net profit compared to the ~0.21 billion in the same period a year ago.

HCL has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corporation (CMDC) to set up a joint venture for extraction of copper from the state.

HCL will hold 74 per cent equity in this venture and the rest would be held by CMDC. The final agreement is likely to be concluded by mid-March.