Hindustan Copper banks on Chile’s Codelco to ramp up output

KOLKATA, Jul y 6: Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) is focusing on copper exploration and production through global collaborations as it seeks to ramp up its mining capacity from 3.47 million tonnes to 12 million tonnes per annum by FY 2030-31, a top company official said on Sunday.
The Kolkata-based PSU has forged a partnership with Chile’s Codelco to enhance technical strength to boost production, he said.
“We’ve forged a strategic partnership with Codelco to build technical strength and explore deeper mineralisation. The visit of Codelco representatives to our key mining sites is part of efforts to upgrade our capabilities,” HCL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Kumar Singh told PTI.
A three-week-long visit by experts from the Chilean copper major is currently underway, during which the team has been visiting all HCL units and offices across the country to assess various mining and operational aspects.
The development comes in the backdrop of sharp criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its performance audit report submitted last December.
Covering the period between 2016-17 and 2021-22, the report flagged off serious lapses in planning, contractor selection and execution for low production growth, including that in the Malanjkhand underground development project — a key initiative for the state-owned copper major.
Central to HCL’s expansion plan is the Malanjkhand Copper Project (MCP) in Madhya Pradesh, where the company has completed its transition to underground mining and is now “relying on technical expertise” from Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, to accelerate progress, the official said.
Singh said the memorandum of understanding between HCL and Codelco is structured to focus on deep exploration by leveraging its global expertise to locate deeper ore bodies and technical capacity building.
It will explore the possibility of forming a joint venture for developing copper blocks in Chile, he said.
While the scope of the MoU currently emphasises technical collaboration, Singh indicated that the partnership might be expanded in the future, depending on progress and mutual interest, Singh said.
The CAG report had also noted that awarding a Rs 1,176-crore contract for Malanjkhand to a financially weak and blacklisted firm led to significant delays and a potential revenue loss of Rs 1,051 crore.
The cost overrun was pegged at Rs 538 crore, further compounded by unjustified ad hoc payments, it said.
Despite past challenges, Malanjkhand recorded its highest-ever annual underground ore production of 2.73 million tonnes in FY 2024-25, exceeding its target by 3 per cent.
The company now plans to raise the mine’s capacity to 5 million tonnes per annum, making it a cornerstone of HCL’s long-term capacity expansion roadmap, Singh added. (PTI)

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