Singapore 29/04/2016 - Vedanta is targeting aluminium production of around 1.2 million tonnes in its fiscal year ending March 2017, up 30 percent from record output of 923,000 tonnes in its previous fiscal year.
The Indian producer hopes to achieve this targeted increase via ramping up its 1.2-million-tonne-per-year Jharsuguda II smelter. The first potline was started up on April 1 and will be ramped up in 3-6 months while the ramp-up of its second pot line will start from the end of the second fiscal quarter, with the third line to follow in the fiscal fourth quarter, Vedanta said in a Thursday presentation.
The ramp-up of its 325,000 tonnes per year Korba II smelter also started in April.
For zinc, Vedanta sees its refined and mined zinc production outside India at 170,000-190,000 tonnes in the current fiscal year, down 16-25 percent from output of 226,000 tonnes last year.
Vedanta's production of zinc outside of India had already fallen 27 percent in the last fiscal year because of the closure of its Lisheen mine in Ireland in November.
The company expects its refined zinc production in India to be stable and refined lead output in India to be higher in fiscal 2017. Mined metal output in India should be marginally higher than this year, it said, without providing specific figures.
Vedanta's refined zinc production in India rose three percent to 759,000 tonnes while mined zinc metal in India was flat at 889,000 tonnes in fiscal 2016. Its refined lead production in India had risen 14 percent to 145,000 tonnes in fiscal 2016.
(Editing by Mark Shaw)