Hindalco doubling down on upstream capacities with substantial investments in aluminium, copper smelting

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) Hindalco is doubling down on upstream capacities through substantial investments in aluminium and copper smelting in India, its Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said on Thursday.

Speaking during the 66th Annual General Meeting of Hindalco Industries Ltd, the chairman said the "company's strategy is to strengthen both its upstream and downstream businesses, with the next phase focused on accelerated upstream expansion alongside continued downstream growth".

In the context of metal business, the process of extracting raw element from ore is termed as upstream while downstream refers to production of final output after value addition.

The company is expanding its Aditya Aluminium smelter in Odisha by 180,000-tonnes per annum and planning a further 360,000-tonne expansion at Mahan aluminium smelter in Madhya Pradesh.

"In addition, we are also investing in a greenfield 850,000-tonne alumina refinery," he said .

Besides, the company's resource security has been further strengthened with the allocation of the 12-million-tonne Meenakshi coal mine, he said, adding that this will enhance energy self-sufficiency and reinforce Hindalco's position as the world's lowest-cost aluminium producer by reducing reliance on auction and linkage coal.

In copper, a 300,000-tonne smelter expansion is underway at Dahej, which, once completed, will make it the largest copper smelting complex in the world, outside China.

On the downstream front, the company is enhancing its portfolio of value-added products in aluminium, copper, specialty alumina, and recycling, with a clear target to quadruple downstream EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) by FY30 from the FY24 base.

"Our new copper tubes plant is ramping up, and construction is in full swing for India's first and the world's second-largest dedicated e-waste and copper recycling facility at Pakhajan," he explained. PTI SID HVA