Hindalco Industries , Aditya Birla group company, has signed an agreement to procure copper concentrate from state-owned Hindustan Copper Ltd .
Currently, Hindalco buys copper concentrate from global mining companies. It operates Asia’s largest single-location custom Copper Smelter at Dahej in Gujarat.
As per the agreement signed, Hindalco will use about 60 per cent of copper concentrate produced by Hindustan Copper.
Satish Pai, Managing Director, Hindalco Industries said the pact would help in utilising locally mined copper concentrate for domestic production of refined copper and reduces India’s dependence on import of a critical metal.
“It adds strategic value to Hindalco’s value chain and empowers us to offer a more reliable supply of copper products to feed diverse copper downstream sectors in India,” added Pai.
Hindalco is India’s largest custom copper producer with over 50 per cent of domestic refined copper requirements. Copper products produced by it is used in key industries such as power, electronics, railways and construction.
Arun Kumar Shukla, Chairman and MD, Hindustan Copper, said the tie-up will go a long way in building the domestic copper industry by ensuring efficient utilisation of the country’s mineral resources sustainably.
With this partnership, HCL will be taking a step towards assuring the supply of raw material to the Indigenous copper manufacturers, he said.
Hindustan Copper is the only vertically integrated copper producing company in India with presence in mining, beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refined copper metal into downstream saleable products.