31st May 2005 07:01
Vedanta Resources PLC31 May 2005 31 May 2005 Vedanta Resources plcCompletion of Major Zinc Expansion Project& Extension of Mine Life Vedanta Resources plc, the London listed metals and mining company, announcesthat the major expansion project at its zinc facilities in India has beencompleted on schedule and trial production has commenced. The cost of theproject is around 15% less than the original budget of $425m and the smelter wascompleted at a cost significantly below international benchmarks. The expansion increases Vedanta's refined zinc capacity by 170,000 tpa to around400,000 tpa. The new hydro metallurgical smelter, designed by Lurgi, has thelatest energy and environmental efficiencies and will further improve Vedanta'salready globally competitive cost position. The project included theconstruction of a 154 MW captive power plant and the expansion of mine outputfrom 2.3 mtpa to 3.75 mtpa. Separately, the reserves at the Rampura Agucha mine, which feeds the smelter,have been increased by 25%, compared to the reserves at 31 March 2004, to 50.1million tonnes. This follows a drilling programme by Vedanta's ExplorationDivision, which started in September 2004. The reserves contain 12.8 % zinc and1.9% lead. The life of Rampura Agucha has therefore been extended by another 3years, at the increased level of output, with potential to expand the reservesthrough further exploration. The programme to upgrade reserves and resources will continue at Rampura Aguchathroughout 2005-06 including further brownfield exploration for zinc around theexisting mines in Rajasthan. Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta said "We are delighted at the success of thissecond major project which, through the dedication and expertise of mycolleagues, demonstrates our ability to deliver projects at low cost and onschedule. The increase in reserves adds significant long term value to Vedantaand is part of a focused exploration effort. Zinc demand in India is growingrapidly and the new production will be well placed to serve this demand andassist in the future economic growth of India." For further information, please contact: Peter Sydney-Smith, Finance Director John Smelt, Head of Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7499 5900Vedanta Resources plc +44 787 964 2675 James Murgatroyd Faeth BirchRobin Walker Tel: +44 20 7251 3801Finsbury Notes to Editors: Vedanta is a London listed diversified metals and mining group. Our principaloperations are located throughout India, with further operations in Zambia andAustralia. The major metals produced are aluminium, copper, zinc and lead. Thezinc facilities are principally based in Rajasthan, in North West India, and areoperated by Hindustan Zinc Limited, which is 65% owned by the Vedanta group. Theexpansion project involved constructing a 170,000 tpa hydro-metallurgicalsmelter with a 154 MW coal based thermal captive power plant and expanding thecapacity of the Rampura Agucha operation from 2.3 Mtpa to 3.75 Mtpa. A drilling programme aimed at upgrading resources to reserve status and furtheradding to resources was commenced by the Exploration Division in the lastquarter of 2004. This programme focused on drilling down dip and along strike ofthe already outlined reserves. An independent audit of the reserves andresources at 31st March, 2005 has been carried out by SRK Consulting. The reserves and resources for Rampura Agucha at 31st March, 2005 are: Ore Reserve JORC Classification Tonnes (millions)Zn% Pb% Proved 22.4 13.2 2.0 Probable 27.8 12.4 1.9 Total 50.1 12.8 1.9Mineral Resource Measured - - - Indicated 11.1 12.7 1.7 Inferred 13.8 12.2 1.7 Total 24.9 12.4 1.7 Note: Resources are in addition to reserves.There are no measured resources in addition to the reserves as these have allbeen upgraded to reserve status. The information on Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves in this press release isbased on information compiled internally by the mining division of RampuraAgucha Zinc Mine and independently audited by Mr Steffen Schmidt and Mr DavidPearce of SRK(UK) Ltd. Mr Schmidt is a Senior Mining Geologist whilst Mr Pearceis a Principal Mining Engineer, both with SRK Consulting. Mr Schmidt hassufficient experience in this style of mineralization and resource estimationtechniques whilst Mr Pearce has sufficient experience with the mining methodsand reserve estimation techniques to be regarded as 'competent persons' asdefined in the 2004 edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting ofExploration Results and Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' (The JORC Code). SRKConsulting consents to the inclusion of the material in the form and content inwhich it appears. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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