Hindustan Zinc to invest up to $2 billion to double production capacity: CEO

Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc plans to pump in up to $2 billion (around Rs 17,000 crore) to double its production capacity to 2 million tonnes in the next few years, its CEO Arun Misra said.

The company which had already engaged consultants to ramp up its capacity is looking for mining partners for the same, Misra told PTI. "We have a plan of doubling the production to 2 million tonnes… So, I am sure by the end of this quarter, we should be able to make project announcements, which projects, how much and where it is happening." he explained.

The company is targetting a production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes (MT) in 2025, followed by 1.35 MT in 2026 and 1.8 MT in 2027, Misra said. "And then finally, sometime, we should be able to get 2 million tonnes," he explained.

When asked about the investment the company plans to make to increase production capacity, he said, "Because most of the mining infrastructure is in place, so, it is anywhere between 2 billion dollars or 1.95 or 2 billion dollars, roughly about, say, Rs 14,000 crore to Rs 17,000 crore is the kind of money that will be required."

On the company's restructuring plans, he said that the discussions are on and the stakeholders are talking regularly. He further said that as the government is also working on the disinvestment of Hindustan Zinc so, there is a dependence on that as well. "So, one of them will happen," he explained.

Hindustan Zinc is the world's second-largest integrated zinc producer and the third-largest silver producer. The company supplies to more than 40 countries and holds a market share of about 75 per cent of the primary zinc market in India.

The company on Friday reported a 34.5 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,327 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, on the back of higher income.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,729 crore in the year-ago period. The income in the July-September period rose to Rs 8,522 crore from Rs 7,014 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The company earned a revenue of Rs 6,403 crore from zinc, lead and other segments and Rs 1,550 crore from silver vertical in the second quarter.