Hind Zinc to become one of top silver producers by March 2011

NEW DELHI: Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc today said it is set to become one of the top producers of silver in the world, with an estimated output of 500 tonnes by March 2011, more than double its production at present.

Most of the production would come from its new 1.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) capacity mill at its Sindesar Khurd mine in Rajasthan which commenced trial production at the end of the quarter ending December, 2010.

"Our Silver segment is undergoing phenomenal growth...We will become one of the world's top silver producers at 16 million oz (500 tonnes)," Chief Operating Officer Hindustan Zinc Akhilesh Joshi told PTI.

The new 1.50 MTPA mill at silver-rich mine at Sindesar Khurd has commenced production towards the end of Q3 FY 2011, he said adding, "With our accelerated capacity ramp up, we are poised to exit FY 2012 with Silver production capacity of 500 tonnes."

The London-listed diversified metals and mining major Vedanta Resources's subsidiary at present produces about 180 tonnes of the silver, which is a by product of zinc and lead, for which it is India's largest and world's second largest integrated producer.

The company has about 1 MT zinc production capacity per annum.

The company recorded an output of 129,275 kg of silver for the nine months ending December 31, 2010 as compared to a-year-ago period.

For the third quarter, for which the results were declared today, it recorded 42,013 kg of silver proudction at almost the same level as in the corresponding period last year.

Commenting on the third quarter result, company chairman, Agnivesh Agarwal said, "With the commencement of trial production at our new 1.50 MTPA mill at Sindesar Khurd at the end of the quarter, we will exit FY 2012 with Silver production capacity of 500 tonnes making HZL one of the world's top silver producers."

The company said with 500 tonnes of production it would contribute about 25 per cent of the total silver demand in India, which is at present 2,000 tonnes and majority of which is met through imports.

A company spokesperson said it is ramping-up mine production in other mines as well apart from Sindesar Khurd, which initially had 0.5 million tonne capacity besides improving silver recovery in smelters and mines.