The project will also incorporate HCL’s new waste management system wherein it would extract minerals and materials from copper ore tails (COT) from waste generated by beneficiation at its Malanjkhand mines. The COT plant will have a capacity of 3.3 million ton per year.

This would be part of HCL’s capital investment to the tune of $781 million over the next three years to ramp up copper ore extraction capacity and cathode manufacturing.

Elaborating on the domestic market, company officials said Indian demand for refined copper, which included copper cathode and wire rod, was estimated at 665,000 tons and domestic copper consumption was expected to rise in range of 6%-7% with demand from power and construction sector continuing to be key drivers of the local market.

However, in a significant decision, HCL board of directors have decided not to appoint any foreign contractor as mine developer operator (MDO) for any of its future mining projects in the country.

The decision was made in wake of HCL’s face-off with Perth-based mining engineering firm, India Resource Ltd. (IRL). In exceptional cases, a foreign MDO could be considered but on condition that the latter would mandatorily have to enter into a tie up with an India company to be eligible to bid for any HCL project, company officials said.

IRL had been a MDO for HCL’s Surda copper mines in the eastern Indian province of Jharkhand, but last year, the Indian copper miner received a notice from IRL and its special purpose vehicle, Eastern Goldfields Ltd. stating that the latter was terminating the operational and maintenance contract for Surda mines with immediate effect.

The Indian copper refiner maintained that the notice for termination of contract was “unilateral, wrongful and breach of contract” for which HCL was entitled to clam liquidated damages from IRL and that there had not been any failure on the part of HCL to pay the disputed monthly payments for a continuous period of 90 days from date of submission of bills.

The HCL-IRL dispute affected the operations of the Surda mines, which according to one estimate, suffered a fall in monthly production of just 25 million ton per month, barely 10% of its monthly production capacity.