Hind Copper may sell stake in mines to Nalco

KOLKATA: State-owned Hindustan Copper, which recently saw its follow-on public offer being delayed due to adverse capital market conditions, is negotiating with aluminum major Nalco to sell about 20% equity stake in two of its copper mines. The stake sale is aimed at part financing Hindustan Copper's expansion plans which are estimated to cost 4,000 crore, according to a senior executive.

"We have held talks with Nalco which has offered to invest in our mines in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But these discussions are at a preliminary stage and there is nothing concrete on the ground as yet," chairman Shakeel Ahmed told ET.

Hindustan Copper is in the process of getting the valuation done for the Malanjkhand copper mines in Madhya Pradesh and the Banwas mines in Rajasthan. While company executives declined to peg a number on the value for the 20% stake in the mines, industry analysts said it won't be less than 500 crore.

State-owned Hindustan Copper is India's only copper producer with its own mines.