Vedanta Resources output at record

In the January-March quarter,the company registered a record production of 2.31 lakh tonnes of metal,a growth of 19 per cent compared to the corresponding period a year ago,a Vedanta Resources statement said.

During the corresponding quarter of the previous year,its metal output stood at 1.94 lakh tonnes.

The company attributed the increase in production to higher output from its Rampura Agucha and Sindesar Khurd mines.

In a separate statement,Vedanta Group firm Hindustan Zinc said,”Refined zinc production was 29 per cent higher at 1.94 lakh tonnes in the January-March quarter and 23 per cent higher at 7.12 lakh tonnes for the year 2010-2011.”

The Rajpura Dariba smelter contributed 1.65 lakh tonnes and was one of the main reasons for the rise in the company’s zinc production.

The smelter was commissioned in March,2010.

Sesa Goa,another Vedanta group firm,registered a 21 per cent decline in iron ore production in the fourth quarter to 5.49 million tonnes as the Karnataka government imposed a ban on iron ore exports. In addition,the termination of its third party mining agreement in Orissa in November,2010,hurt the group firm’s output.

For the year ended March 31,iron ore production was marginally lower at 18.80 million tonnes,Sesa Goa said in a statement.

Nevertheless,Sesa Goa posted a slight increase in sales to 6.65 million tonnes for the fourth quarter ended March 31,compared to 6.55 million tonnes in the same year-ago period.

The statement added that a final hearing on the iron ore exports ban is expected to be heard by the apex court in the first week of May.

In a recent ruling,the Supreme Court has asked the Karnataka government to lift the ban from April 20.

Meanwhile,Sterlite registered a two per cent growth in its annual aluminium production to 2.55 lakh tonnes,it said in a statement.

For the January-March quarter,however,the company’s aluminium production declined by three per cent to 62,000 tonnes,it added.

The statement said that the Group’s lead production slumped by 13 per cent to 63,000 tonnes for 2010-11,over the previous year. For the fourth quarter ended March 31,it stood at 18,000 tonnes,down 10 per cent over the same period a year ago.

Silver and Copper production for 2010-11 fiscal remained flat at 50,000 kg and 80,000 tonnes,respectively,during the quarter under review,compared to the previous financial year,it said.

Its annual copper production declined by 9 per cent at 3.04 lakh tonnes due to a 22-day-long planned shutdown for maintenance. Moreover,Chennai High Court’s September-end order to stop work at the site also attributed to the decline in production.

The case is currently being heard by the Supreme Court and the unit is operational at its full capacity,the statement added.

Vedanta Group is also planning to increase the lead and silver production in the next few months as a lead smelter at Dariba,having a capacity of 100 kilo tonnes per annum,is expected to be commissioned during the ongoing quarter.

On overseas acquisitions,it said that the Group completed the takeover of Skorpion mines in Namibia in December,2010,while the acquisition of Black Mountain mines in South Africa and Lisheen Mines in Ireland were completed in February.

It also plans to commission the first unit of 1,200 MW captive power plant at BALCO in Chhattisgarh during the 2011-12 fiscal,while it expects to commission the remaining two units of 2,400 MW Jharsugda captive power plant by the end of 2011.

The company also commissioned 48 MW wind power plant during the January-March quarter and will commission 102 MW more during this fiscal.

Riding on good production numbers,shares of Hindustan Zinc closed at Rs 143.25 apiece,up 2.95 per cent on BSE,while Sterlite Industries’ was down 0.2 per cent at 174.25 per share.

On the other hand,Sesa Goa was down 0.84 per cent at Rs 313.20 apiece on BSE.