Sterlite commissions Balco''s Korba aluminium smelter; hikes copper capacity at Tuticorin

Mumbai: Sterlite Industries India Ltd has successfully commissioned its new 245,000-tpa aluminium smelter consisting of 288 pots. The performance of all pots has been improving steadily and full capacity of 245,000 tpa is expected to be reached by the end of this financial year. All four units of the 540 MW power plant continue to operate well.

This expansion takes the total aluminium capacity of BALCO at 345,000 tpa with full energy-integration.

Furthermore, the de-bottlenecking of the Tuticorin copper smelter to expand its capacity to 400,000 tpa, is now complete and the smelter is now fully operational. This increase in capacity by 100,000 tpa has been achieved ahead of schedule, the company said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The smelting and refining costs at Tuticorin are one of the lowest worldwide and were at a level of US cents 5.2 per pound for the six months ended on September 30, 2006. The expansion will further help in reducing the costs of production, the release added.

Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd, is a leading producer of copper in India. Sterlite, a part of Vedanta Resources, a London-listed metals and mining major with aluminium, copper and zinc operations in India and Australia, continues to seek improvements in its business, having set benchmarks to LME grade A standards in copper products manufacturing.